2nds West Coast Eagles WAFL Watch 2024

Remove this Banner Ad

I think location plays a big part for Peel. There seems to be resentment around the Fremantle players being there, Aaron Naughton in particular is on record not liking the Freo players at his time there, but he wasn't going to travel out of his way to move clubs. When you look at it there are 8 other viable clubs in the Perth area why play for West Coast and if West Coast take over a team there are still 7 other clubs to play for.
 
Put the young interstate players at Perth with any Peel players that West Coast draft while the rest of the WA players go back to their WAFL teams and the mature interstate players get spread out across the other WAFL teams.

There are many problems with an alignment but the biggest issue was the fluctuation of West Coast players that are available from week to week. As we have seen 9 West Coast players could be available 1 week then the next week through injury and travelling emergencies only 6 available. Throw in the fact that players are coming in and out of different positions, it made it impossible for East Perth to plan around and destroyed any depth they had as their own players went to other WAFL teams to get away from it.

With young interstate players there will be around 5-6 together at Perth. Most of these players will be in the WAFL for most of the season so Perth can plan around it and the Perth supporters won't feel like they are being overtaken by West Coast. These young players are the ones you would want to keep together at one club.

All the WA players would be happy to go back to their WAFL teams where the coaches and teammates already know them and in the past it never was a problem. The WAFL teams would see the mature interstate West Coast players as an asset and would like to have them and even if players like Bailey Williams or Hunt are in and out of the team a bit it is only 1 player you have to change, not a 1/4 of the team like East Perth were forced to do at times.

It isn't perfect but there isn't a perfect system and I think this is the best option.
The model East Perth had 2000-2002 was the best.
Only had Victorian players. Some supporters still were unhappy but it allowed more local players to get a game at east perth and develop.
I think we only averaged 4-6 west coast players on average. Also allowed very green afl recruits to play wafl reserves.
Lists were a bit smaller back then.
The idea that all players need to play in a standalone side isn't working.
Local players like mcgovern, waterman, ryan, etc can always play for their former wafl sides. it wouldn't hinder them.

In the Vfl this year Werribee and Southport two of the non Afl affiliated clubs played off in the grand final
and Carlton and Collingwood finished 19 and 20 in a 21 team comp.
 
Last edited:
The model East Perth had 2000-2002 was the best.
Only had Victorian players. Some supporters still were unhappy but it allowed more local players to get a game at east perth and develop.
I think we only averaged 4-6 west coast players on average. Also allowed very green afl recruits to play wafl reserves.
Lists were a bit smaller back then.
The idea that all players need to play in a standalone side isn't working.
Local players like mcgovern, waterman, ryan, etc can always play for their former wafl sides. it wouldn't hinder them.

In the Vfl this year Werribee and Southport two of the non Afl affiliated clubs played off in the grand final
and Carlton and Collingwood finished 19 and 20 in a 21 team comp.

Always been a myth that a stand alone side is better but like anything in the AFL once one club does something the rest of the sheep just follow.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

I need to get a sign made up so I can just tap it rather than say this every time.

If every other AFL club has their reserves playing together, then being the one club that spreads them out would be either a competitive advantage or a competitive disadvantage.

And I don’t see how it can possibly be an advantage.
 
West Coast have the advantage over the Victorian teams that the WA players can go back to the WAFL clubs who have developed them and have an interest in helping them and wanting them to succeed. The other advantage is going to clubs that expect you to perform and fans who will hold you accountable, where winning and losing means something.

Winder has said repeatedly that going to Souths helped him understand the privilege of being on a AFL list. The issue is that you would like all your players playing under the same system and gameplan, but the club can't get it to work. Playing with amateurs who don't understand the gameplan themselves isn't helping and West Coast left a trail of carnage behind at East Perth that no other WAFL club wants.
 
Pyke needs to sit down with Adrian Barich and ask “on what terms and under what circumstances could you see your Perth FC members accepting an alignment?” And then nut out some sort of acceptable alignment arrangement from there.

It just makes too much sense for both clubs. They’re based at the same oval. They’ve both been uncompetitive for a long long time. Perth are basically a pre-alignment Peel, but with a longer history and bigger supporter base.

I know the Perth members are strongly against it after seeing the East Perth experience, but there has to be some form of an alignment that can address their concerns while still being of benefit to West Coast.
I think one of the biggest fears for WAFL teams is that half their league players will be forced to make way for the Eagles listed players like what happened to EP. Otherwise they need to depend on a long Eagles injury list.

WC need to allow a reasonable number of our players to play in the reserves, so more of Perth's players can remain in the the league team.

WC weren't happy with players being stuck in the reserves (including when they weren't ready for league) during the league wide host club arrangements.
 
I think one of the biggest fears for WAFL teams is that half their league players will be forced to make way for the Eagles listed players like what happened to EP.

WC need to allow a reasonable number of our players to play in the reserves, so more of Perth's players can remain in the the league team.

WC weren't happy with players being stuck in the reserves (including when they weren't ready for league) during the league wide host club arrangements.

True. The flip side of that is that we’ve now got players who well and truly should be in WAFL reserves who have to play seniors.

I think Peel has negotiated a cap with Freo? No reason we couldn’t do the same. We’d just have to accept the fact that occasionally the odd player will be stuck down in the ressies when we’d rather they play seniors.
 
It would be a certainty he has sat down with them.
It can only work if the WAFL club is in charge, yes they need to work with the Eagles but the Eagles cannot call the shots. It falls over every time with the Eagles because they want to be dictators. That is the sticking point for Perth and probably any other club now.
I honestly think the alignment could work and it would be better for the Eagles and also for Perth. Makes so much sense except for that one obstacle which is the dictatorship from the Eagles.
Sit down with Barich and find a way.
It is an absolute no-brainer. The solution is smashing us in the face and has been since 2019.

Get insight into the relationship between Peel and the other mob. What makes it work and bloody replicate it (although I fear a large part was that Peel was completely irrelevant before the alignment)? If it's caps on players, do it. If it's more control of the game plan, do it. At the moment, we don't have anything to back up the ego that has been shown time and time again. Go cap in hand and ask what it will take to make this work. I also cannot fathom how Barra wouldn't want this (he is an Eagles man as well).

I am sure this has been discussed, but surely, it would allow us to redistribute soft cap spending. Could dramatically boost the development coaching if we were spending so much on having our own WAFL team.

Years ago I was genuinely excited to have our own team in the WAFL. Currently, it just sits on a long list of things that embarrass the club and supporters.
 
It's the biggest thing Pyke needs to sort out.

After the club song.
Agree on first point. Given so many young players, without a decent reserves how can we expect any real serious development of the bottom half-third of the list? Or say, trialling them in new positions?

Hardly creates pressure for spots.

Also it makes it unnecessarily hard to drop non-performing senior players. Dropping them to a Beagles side that wins so few games, and is too often an embarrassment, is almost like you’re penalising them for eg. drink driving rather than just poor form or attitude. It’s too big a drop in level.

I don’t pretend to know how - but please just fix it Don! ASAP.
 
I need to get a sign made up so I can just tap it rather than say this every time.

If every other AFL club has their reserves playing together, then being the one club that spreads them out would be either a competitive advantage or a competitive disadvantage.

And I don’t see how it can possibly be an advantage.
Maybe so but what we’re running now can’t possibly be an advantage either and not sure it ever has been.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Maybe so but what we’re running now can’t possibly be an advantage either and not sure it ever has been.

It was ok in 2019, both sides made finals.

What we’ve currently got is definitely not working. I used to be of the opinion that the best way forward was to fix the standalone side. They seem unwilling or unable to do that, so the next best would be pursuing a Perth alignment hard.

The only remaining alternative is going back to spreading the players out, and I still think being the only side doing that will hurt rather than help.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

2nds West Coast Eagles WAFL Watch 2024

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top