What are West Coast trying to do?

[Obeanie1]

Your non-sequitur, substance free, subterranean argument is redundant in this entire thread.

But keep splitting hairs and adding the previously non-existent qualifying term 'original' to it.

Just makes the whole thing more amusing.

My post and point was pretty clear and factual.

Yours is just an amusing rant. Carry on. Please.....carry on.

I get it. It was a steep price paid for a 29 year old fullback with back issues. Massive price to pay.

A 1st a 2nd AND a 3rd round pick. Eagles currently hold two clubs worth of future picks. Two 1sts, 2 2nds and 2 3rds.

All factual. No hairs to be split there mate. None at all.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

My post and point was pretty clear and factual.

Yours is just an amusing rant. Carry on. Please.....carry on.

I get it. It was a steep price paid for a 29 year old fullback with back issues. Massive price to pay.

A 1st a 2nd AND a 3rd round pick. Eagles currently hold two clubs worth of future picks. Two 1sts, 2 2nds and 2 3rds.

All factual. No hairs to be split there mate. None at all.

Hawthorn still have Carlton future first, so it was the equivalent of a 2nd and a 3rd rounder for him

 

[Obeanie1]

West Coast list management is diabolical.

How do you trade out good players and worsen your draft hand at the same time?

I cannot imagine them being competitive until at least 2030.

How is the Eagles draft hand worse? They currently hold in realisty two clubs draft hands in 2025.

Expect some of those to be traded back into 2024 either before or on draft night.

 

[Obeanie1]

Hawthorn still have Carlton future first, so it was the equivalent of a 2nd and a 3rd rounder for him

Totally different conversation.

What was traded for Barrass?

What Hawks picks do the Eagles now hold? After trading Barrass?

What you are discussing is a totally different trade. Nothing to do with the Barrass trade. Hawks traded their 2024 1st for Blues 2025 1st. Nothing to do with the Barrass trade.

 

[We_The_West]

I would have been happy with a F2 for Tom Barass - his back is cooked and regularly gets bags of goals kicked on him.

Given we got F1, F2 and F3 is a huge win.

 

[WilloTree]

Owies the gut running pressure forward.

This gave me a chuckle.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

I would have been happy with a F2 for Tom Barass - his back is cooked and regularly gets bags of goals kicked on him.

Given we got F1, F2 and F3 is a huge win.

You're probably the person at that blows 100k on the trots, wins 1k, and says they won

 

[We_The_West]

You're probably the person at that blows 100k on the trots, wins 1k, and says they won

Well in theory.... a win is a win.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

To answer the OP, West Coast are trying to keep Harley Reid around long term. To do that, they've decided they need to show continuous improvement so that Reid doesn't feel like he has to leave to contend for flags. Losing Barrass sets them back in the short term, so they felt they had to get a decent veteran like Baker in to keep the steady improvement going. That part makes some sense at least.

The problem is, they got so fixated on Baker that they took significant unders on pick 3 to make it happen. They forgot that part of getting Reid to stay 5 years down the track isn't just making finals, but having the talent to win a flag, which Jagga or Draper would contribute to significantly. They should have made the deal with Hawthorn first up so they could keep pick 3, or told Hawthorn to kiss Barrass goodbye once they made the deal with Carlton, instead of getting short changed.

 

[Wce17]

As an outsider looking into the club I am genuinely confused as to what they're doing with their list, they haven't bottomed out yet, they still have numerous older players yet to hang up the boots, yet they've decided to bring in 3 mature age players, and opted to trade away their #3 draft pick when ideally this is the time they'd be trying to stock pile young players and develop them as part of their future core, do they genuinely believe they can make one last gasp effort for finals?

I don't know, the Fremantle supporter in me would be happy to see them down the bottom for years to come, but the objective part of me is just wondering whether this is strategic or pure incompetence on their behalf?

Numerous older players hey?

The only older players left on the list are AA McGovern & Cripps who was still playing good footy but dropped away at the end of the season.

That’s 2 guys both with 1 year contracts. You could add Sheed who’s 29 but his foot is cooked & he will be gone next year I’d say.

We have moved on the rest of the older players over the last 2 off-seasons. Darling, Gaff, Shuey, NN, Darling & so on.

 

[bzparkes]

To answer the OP, West Coast are trying to keep Harley Reid around long term. To do that, they've decided they need to show continuous improvement so that Reid doesn't feel like he has to leave to contend for flags. Losing Barrass sets them back in the short term, so they felt they had to get a decent veteran like Baker in to keep the steady improvement going. That part makes some sense at least.

The problem is, they got so fixated on Baker that they took significant unders on pick 3 to make it happen. They forgot that part of getting Reid to stay 5 years down the track isn't just making finals, but having the talent to win a flag, which Jagga or Draper would contribute to significantly. They should have made the deal with Hawthorn first up so they could keep pick 3, or told Hawthorn to kiss Barrass goodbye once they made the deal with Carlton, instead of getting short changed.

There's a better top end next year + Chad Warner potentially coming to the club. Nobody we take in this draft is likely to make any difference next year but Baker, Graham and Owies will.

Don't get me wrong, not happy with the return on the trade but at least WCE currently have the strongest hand for next year.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Numerous older players hey?

The only older players left on the list are AA McGovern & Cripps who was still playing good footy but dropped away at the end of the season.

That’s 2 guys both with 1 year contracts. You could add Sheed who’s 29 but his foot is cooked & he will be gone next year I’d say.

We have moved on the rest of the older players over the last 2 off-seasons. Darling, Gaff, Shuey, NN, Darling & so on.

Kelly? Yeo? Hunt?

 

[Johnny Bananas]

There's a better top end next year + Chad Warner potentially coming to the club. Nobody we take in this draft is likely to make any difference next year but Baker, Graham and Owies will.

Don't get me wrong, not happy with the return on the trade but at least WCE currently have the strongest hand for next year.

I agree this is good for next year. If that helps convince Reid to stick around, then there's a real positive from that. It's just that in five years, unless whoever they take at 12 outperforms whoever they would have taken at 3, it's not as good as it could have been. I think there was a sound principle behind West Coast's approach to the offseason (even if I wouldn't have followed it myself) but the execution has been poor.

 

[bzparkes]

I agree this is good for next year. If that helps convince Reid to stick around, then there's a real positive from that. It's just that in five years, unless whoever they take at 12 outperforms whoever they would have taken at 3, it's not as good as it could have been. I think there was a sound principle behind West Coast's approach to the offseason (even if I wouldn't have followed it myself) but the execution has been poor.

It may but whoever we would've taken at pick 3 has as much chance as being as good as Hewett in 5 years(presuming his foot is right, all reports are positive), as does whoever we take with our first pick next year.

Steadying the ship and setting a baseline for next year is just as important as pushing for finals in 5 years, IMO.

If it was a top end like most other years then WCE fans would certainly be even more ropeable with the trade for pick 3 but list management is done in isolation to one year only, it's a long term strategy.

It's different to what other clubs have done but as we know, clubs who've gone complete slash & burn haven't been successful yet, so maybe the team at WCE have taken that into consideration and gone a different path.

 

[Wce17]

Kelly? Yeo? Hunt?

Yep. I missed those 3. Hunt only turns 30 next year. Kelly had a late start to his AFL career so hopefully last a few years longer & Yeo showed this year with a new fitness program that he’s still quality.

The OP made it sound like it’s a complete disaster & we haven’t moved anyone on. We where carrying older players but all the ones left are still going fine IMO

 

[Freomaniac]

I feel they are like the Richmond of 2024 next year.

Spoons either eagles or tigers.

eagles wont be near the spoon

 

[Freomaniac]

Eagles were looking for support for the kids and to set standards. They landed Graham for free to help Reid and Kelly.

Baker at half back.

Owies the gut running pressure forward.

eagles got Jack Graham, Liam Baker and Mitch Owies vis trades.

Graham is 180 cm and 80 kgs. Not elite but versatile. He will easily be in the eagles 23 in 2025.

Baker at half back? Probably. Baker is 173 cm. Can play back flank, forward flank or on a wing.

Owies is a solid pick up if his last 2 seasons is Anything to go by. 27 goals from 18 games in 2023. 33 goals from 23 games in 2024. Yeah bery likely to play 18 to 20 game for the eagles in 2025. Owies is a good pick up from Carlton. Eagles have a few blokes that can play small forward in Dewar, Brockman and Ryan (when fit)

 

[We_The_West]

eagles got Jack Graham, Liam Baker and Mitch Owies vis trades.

Graham is 180 cm and 80 kgs. Not elite but versatile. He will easily be in the eagles 23 in 2025.

Baker at half back? Probably. Baker is 173 cm. Can play back flank, forward flank or on a wing.

Owies is a solid pick up if his last 2 seasons is Anything to go by. 27 goals from 18 games in 2023. 33 goals from 23 games in 2024. Yeah bery likely to play 18 to 20 game for the eagles in 2025. Owies is a good pick up from Carlton. Eagles have a few blokes that can play small forward in Dewar, Brockman and Ryan (when fit)

Just having the 3 mentioned above playing best 22 gives a few younger eagles the chance to develop in the 2s.

Injuries meant young players being thrown to the wolves before they were ready and that can hit confidence hard.