What's the best case scenario for 2023?

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Best case.

We actually have a fit list at season start; and keep it that way.
We play and properly develop the young guys.
We fade out our fading 'credits in the bank' guys. Guys like Gaff, Hurn (love him, but) etc.
We change and develop the game plan to be competitive.
We do a reverse Collingwood and instead of winning 10 games by less than a goal and scraping into finals, we lose 10 games by less than a goal, finish 16-17, get a decent draft pick and push up in 2024. Regardless of number of wins, a bunch of close losses would be a dramatic improvement on our average 8 goal loss this year.
 
Deplorable trumpster said:
Ladder position is irrelevent for me. And i can't see us making the 8 no matter what anyway.

The KPI's for Simpson and co should be firstly getting more games into young players. Secondly, getting serious and significant improvement in the group of players who have 50 games or more and are 27 or younger because this group has seriously floundered and flopped and we need more of a contribution from them. I think the comprehensive collective failure of this group to mature is the biggest black mark Simpson has. Thirdly, improving the mindset and fitness of the players to the point that however many games we lose all the losses are purely because the other side is better than us and not because the other side ran twice as hard and as far as we did and were more prepared to chase and fight for the ball in a contest and we weren't. I think a lot of the thumpings we copped this year were due to poor fitness, laziness and a losing mentality in the playing group who were having signals sent to them all year by club leadership that losing by 100 points is OK because Covid.

If they achieve these things and we are still in the bottom 4 then i will not criticise because i will still know that things are moving forwards. But all indications are that they are moving in the opposite direction and plan to ride the dead horse into the ground by prioritising playing the older players and relying on that group to generate the improvement. Any improvement in club performance that comes solely or mostly from the over 30's is fool's gold because it is not sustainable. The improvement, if there is any, needs to come from the middle aged group to have any meaning for us.
Click to expand...
Sorry but it is exactly this group that has seriously let us down over the last few years. They are the 'second tier'. They are the ones who should have come on to replace the first tier. Who in that group would you select in the first half of the team? Who is likely to be selected in AA squad or top 20 Brownlow?

I can see little sense putting more games into e.g. Witherden, Waterman, Langdon, Rotham, Petrucelle. At best they are honest toilers, at worst list cloggers. How many more games do they need to fulfil their 'potential'? Sure, if we don't have a younger player to fill a position then give them a game. But I'd rather be taking a punt on the younger players who'll be with us in 7-10 years even though it's likely some may get no further than the above names.

Similarly, with a player like TB I'd be putting the least possible games into him to give his body a bit of a break (as he's part of our future). Get the games into HEdwards and use Gov as the workhorse (as he won't be around for too long).
Maybe same for JD (max games) with OA getting minimum games so as to get KPF games into BWilliams or Dixon or JWilliams (or even Rotham?)

I don't think we should be worrying about what happens next season in terms of wins. What advantage is there in finishing say 10th instead of 13th? (Plus the better draft picks.) Take a longer term strategy of building a team that can get to PF or GF. Simmo and others may want a good win/loss record for their CV but to me it's premierships. The rest is ego.
 

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Realistically it's improvement in the likes of Chesser, Culley, West, Hough and Williams to name a few. Coupled with our first three of four draft picks in this year's draft looking promising will give us hope.

Eight wins with lots of green shoots in the kids will be great.

Development of kids in our biggest weakness - midfield and ruck stocks will be even greater.
 
Grahame said:
Sorry but it is exactly this group that has seriously let us down over the last few years. They are the 'second tier'. They are the ones who should have come on to replace the first tier. Who in that group would you select in the first half of the team? Who is likely to be selected in AA squad or top 20 Brownlow?

I can see little sense putting more games into e.g. Witherden, Waterman, Langdon, Rotham, Petrucelle. At best they are honest toilers, at worst list cloggers. How many more games do they need to fulfil their 'potential'? Sure, if we don't have a younger player to fill a position then give them a game. But I'd rather be taking a punt on the younger players who'll be with us in 7-10 years even though it's likely some may get no further than the above names.
Click to expand...
Re your first paragraph, yes, you're dead right. It's my greatest concern that the lack of quality youth on our list may lead to a very long time at the bottom, which as we all know, we have not experienced before.

Langdon is the biggest spud going around full stop. Shouldn't be contracted again. Waterman and Rotham are key position players who are as good as any other "second tier" KPP in the comp. They're staying.

That brings me to the last two, Witherden and Petrucelle. Both have promised a lot yet haven't delivered a great deal, especially in Petrol's case. He's kicked bags of five on two occasions? He's done very little on the rest of the occasions. Still I think he warrants one more year which will be the last roll of the dice. Witherden has had injuries in both his seasons at our club, which has prevented him playing more games, but his output is far greater than Petrol's IMO. With Hurn scheduled to retired next year and Nelson's likely departure this year, he gets another two years on reduced coin IMO.
 
1008907.jpg
 
McGovern moves into the forward line and becomes a power forward, Yeo plays 3/4 of the season as a running half back gains AA , Cully becomes an amazing inside bull and Nick stays on the park.
 
Best case scenario:
  • Eagles win every game by 200+ points
  • Round 1 - Simmo implements a cutting-edge AI-generated game plan, no team can comprehend it.
  • Round 5 - NASA analysis of our field position leads to new breakthroughs in Quantum Theory
  • Round 8 - Energy innovators utilise these breakthroughs to invent a new method of electricity generation, solving the climate crisis and ending wars for oil forever.
  • Round 10 - Mark McGowan decrees that, due to a 6.3T budget surplus, all WA households shall receive free shipments of wine from Margaret River in perpetuity.
  • Bye - Josh Kennedy is named Secretary General of the UN, his footwork dazzles world leaders into resolving all conflict.
  • Round 13 - Tom Barrass makes an immediate retirement from AFL to explore a new career in medical research.
  • Round 15 - Trevor Nisbett leaves the club, Elon Musk is appointed as CEO. All members receive free a Tesla hand-painted in West Coast colours by Quinten Lynch and Chris Judd.
  • Round 17 - Australia is officially renamed to "Australia, home of the West Coast Eagles".
  • Round 19 - Tom Barrasses (22 of them) make a stunning return, having successfully mastered human cloning.
  • Round 22 - Dan Const undergoes a vasectomy.
  • Grand Final - West Coast defeat Fremantle by 1 million points, Tom Barrass (the 6th one) wins the Normsmith.

Congratulations to our 2023 premiers, the West Coast Eagles

B: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
HB: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
C: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
HF: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
FF: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
Fol: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
Int: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
Emg: T.Swift
 
The worst case scenario is a false dawn, with a middling ladder position (8th - 12th). I can actually see this happening; softer draw, a better injury run (it can't be worse than this year), and some fresh ideas in the S&C team resulting in a better preseason.

It pains me to even think these mid-2000s Melbourne/Carlton type thoughts, but the best case scenario is another bottom four finish. When the club had that amazing prelim year in 2011, it wasn't just off the back of the spoon in 2010. The poor 2008 and 2009 also contributed to the upswing.

Get the squad fit, play the kids, hone the new game plan/structure, celebrate/send off Hurn, Shuey and Redden. Job done.
 

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Best case scenario in a couple of different areas.

Better cohesion from defence to attack
Breaking even in the middle in at least half of games
an I50 improvement of 15 per game over this year. (I don't think it's much to ask, in relation to so many of our games it would make us purely competitive)
 
Mighty Eagles said:
Re your first paragraph, yes, you're dead right. It's my greatest concern that the lack of quality youth on our list may lead to a very long time at the bottom, which as we all know, we have not experienced before.

Langdon is the biggest spud going around full stop. Shouldn't be contracted again. Waterman and Rotham are key position players who are as good as any other "second tier" KPP in the comp. They're staying.

That brings me to the last two, Witherden and Petrucelle. Both have promised a lot yet haven't delivered a great deal, especially in Petrol's case. He's kicked bags of five on two occasions? He's done very little on the rest of the occasions. Still I think he warrants one more year which will be the last roll of the dice. Witherden has had injuries in both his seasons at our club, which has prevented him playing more games, but his output is far greater than Petrol's IMO. With Hurn scheduled to retired next year and Nelson's likely departure this year, he gets another two years on reduced coin IMO.
Click to expand...
My point with all the experienced 'second tier' is who is going to become first tier? Who is in or near an AA squad? Who is selected in the first half of the team? Based on their records to date ... none. In which case they only get a game if there are no youth to cover a position. We know exactly what we are getting with these second tier ... after 50-100 games there is no 'potential'. Call it what it is ... list cloggers.
I'd rather take a punt and play a young untried player who'll still be with us in 7-10 years. And who just may become a first tier player.
 
Last edited:
Ghossein said:
Best case scenario:
  • Eagles win every game by 200+ points
  • Round 1 - Simmo implements a cutting-edge AI-generated game plan, no team can comprehend it.
  • Round 5 - NASA analysis of our field position leads to new breakthroughs in Quantum Theory
  • Round 8 - Energy innovators utilise these breakthroughs to invent a new method of electricity generation, solving the climate crisis and ending wars for oil forever.
  • Round 10 - Mark McGowan decrees that, due to a 6.3T budget surplus, all WA households shall receive free shipments of wine from Margaret River in perpetuity.
  • Bye - Josh Kennedy is named Secretary General of the UN, his footwork dazzles world leaders into resolving all conflict.
  • Round 13 - Tom Barrass makes an immediate retirement from AFL to explore a new career in medical research.
  • Round 15 - Trevor Nisbett leaves the club, Elon Musk is appointed as CEO. All members receive free a Tesla hand-painted in West Coast colours by Quinten Lynch and Chris Judd.
  • Round 17 - Australia is officially renamed to "Australia, home of the West Coast Eagles".
  • Round 19 - Tom Barrasses (22 of them) make a stunning return, having successfully mastered human cloning.
  • Round 22 - Dan Const undergoes a vasectomy.
  • Grand Final - West Coast defeat Fremantle by 1 million points, Tom Barrass (the 6th one) wins the Normsmith.

Congratulations to our 2023 premiers, the West Coast Eagles

B: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
HB: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
C: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
HF: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
FF: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
Fol: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
Int: T.Barrass T.Barrass T.Barrass
Emg: T.Swift
Click to expand...
who's Dan const?

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
Mighty Eagles said:
Re your first paragraph, yes, you're dead right. It's my greatest concern that the lack of quality youth on our list may lead to a very long time at the bottom, which as we all know, we have not experienced before.

Langdon is the biggest spud going around full stop. Shouldn't be contracted again. Waterman and Rotham are key position players who are as good as any other "second tier" KPP in the comp. They're staying.

That brings me to the last two, Witherden and Petrucelle. Both have promised a lot yet haven't delivered a great deal, especially in Petrol's case. He's kicked bags of five on two occasions? He's done very little on the rest of the occasions. Still I think he warrants one more year which will be the last roll of the dice. Witherden has had injuries in both his seasons at our club, which has prevented him playing more games, but his output is far greater than Petrol's IMO. With Hurn scheduled to retired next year and Nelson's likely departure this year, he gets another two years on reduced coin IMO.
Click to expand...

Id love to know the second tier kpp Rotham and Waterman are as good at as neither are Kpp’s to begin with.
 
Waterman to have a 40 goal year and really nail down a spot.
JJ to get most meters gained in the comp
Rioli and ryan to rock up to round 1 fit and firing
Total player buy in to new exciting gameplan
Culley 22 possessions and 7 tackles a game
Gaff 13 games for the beagles


On SM-G973F using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
The wily weagle said:
There was zero pressure on Macrae and Collingwood

He was a first year coach with a young list and wasn't expected to do much. He can afford to be less harsh on those boys, he won 12 of their last 13 and made top 4. Any wonder he is more relaxed! 😂

Our coach on the other hand has the exact same approach and demeanour........in the worst season we have ever had

And therein lies the problem
Click to expand...

Geez some people have blinkers on. Simo is not as warm and cuddly as you all make out IMO. How he comes across in the media I will bet a body part is not how he acts behind closed doors. Especially when players are not putting in.

Just go look at some of his reactions in the coaches box, he is seething at times and you can lip read the F bomb. Not happy at all when things go poorly.

Good coaches have some balance and develop relationships with players. They dont go around ridiculing and verbally bashing players in public.
 
Last edited:
Obeanie1 said:
Geez some people have blinkers on. Simo is not as warm and cuddly as you all make out IMO. How he comes across in the media I will bet a body part is not how he acts behind closed doors. Especially when players are not putting in.

Just go look at some of his reactions in the coaches box, he is seething at times and you can lip read the F bomb. Not happy at all when things go poorly.

Good coaches have some balance and develop relationships with players. They dont go aroung publically ridiculing and verbally bashing players in public.
Click to expand...

I will always respect Simpson for winning us the 2018 flag

But lets not kid ourselves, he is soft on the players. Look how much standards slipped this year alone. There was no putting the acid on the players, no taking them to task, no real accountability, so many were out of shape this year and yet again, they got a free selection pass each and every week

I have long maintained, and will continue to maintain, that Simpson works best with a head kicker as on offsider, because he refuses to be the bad guy.
Now in that regard, i do genuinely regard Knights and Schofield as headkickers. So i am willing to extend a little bit of faith to see what the team can produce next season, but after that, no excuses

But please, lets not kid ourselves about having some tough, hard coach behind closed doors. We don't.
 
Grahame said:
Sorry but it is exactly this group that has seriously let us down over the last few years. They are the 'second tier'. They are the ones who should have come on to replace the first tier. Who in that group would you select in the first half of the team? Who is likely to be selected in AA squad or top 20 Brownlow?

I can see little sense putting more games into e.g. Witherden, Waterman, Langdon, Rotham, Petrucelle. At best they are honest toilers, at worst list cloggers. How many more games do they need to fulfil their 'potential'? Sure, if we don't have a younger player to fill a position then give them a game. But I'd rather be taking a punt on the younger players who'll be with us in 7-10 years even though it's likely some may get no further than the above names.

Similarly, with a player like TB I'd be putting the least possible games into him to give his body a bit of a break (as he's part of our future). Get the games into HEdwards and use Gov as the workhorse (as he won't be around for too long).
Maybe same for JD (max games) with OA getting minimum games so as to get KPF games into BWilliams or Dixon or JWilliams (or even Rotham?)

I don't think we should be worrying about what happens next season in terms of wins. What advantage is there in finishing say 10th instead of 13th? (Plus the better draft picks.) Take a longer term strategy of building a team that can get to PF or GF. Simmo and others may want a good win/loss record for their CV but to me it's premierships. The rest is ego.
Click to expand...
I didn't say that they were a great group of players. But they are our players. The represent 5 years worth of drafting and development investment. We need to try and get a return on the investment. And with so many players failing to come on we have to consider that our development program and coaching might be part of the problems aswell. It is a pretty big deal to throw our entire second tier out the door.

Which 17 year olds do we have banging down the doors to selection with great WAFL form do you want us to replace them with? You forgot to tell us the names of these great 17 year olds on our list that we are refusing to play.

And your standards are pretty unrealistic. if a player hasn't won a Brownlow or become AA by 50 games they are worthless and we should just chuck them out. How many players in our clubs history were AA standard within 50 games? Probably none except Judd. In fact many decent players are never AA. I don't remember Sheed, Barass or Cripps even being AA. Should we have sacked them all 5 - 10 years ago? You don't have to be AA to be contributing and winning your position more often than not.
 
In defence of Adam Simpson, i think the decisions that appear to have been made by the club to avoid a genuine rebuild and a bottoming out at this point in time would not be being made by Simpson. He gets bagged a lot for playing the old players and never dropping them on here. But I think the mandate he has been given by Nisbett and the powerbrokers at the club for the immediate future is to make the club as competitive as it can be given the list he has and try and get us out of the bottom 4 by any means available, even if it means slowing down the process of getting games into younger players and slowing down the timeframe for when we could be in a flag window again. He would not be able to take the club in the direction it is going without buy in from the powerbrokers, and i think it is likely that it is not just buy in that has hapenned but that they are driving these decisions. I think for financial reasons they want to avoid bottoming out in 2023 and 2024 if possible. Senior coach is a senior position in a club but responsibility and decisions for the overall direction of the cub would be being made above his pay grade.
 
Deplorable trumpster said:
In defence of Adam Simpson, i think the decisions that appear to have been made by the club to avoid a genuine rebuild and a bottoming out at this point in time would not be being made by Simpson. He gets bagged a lot for playing the old players and never dropping them on here. But I think the mandate he has been given by Nisbett and the powerbrokers at the club for the immediate future is to make the club as competitive as it can be given the list he has and try and get us out of the bottom 4 by any means available, even if it means slowing down the process of getting games into younger players and slowing down the timeframe for when we could be in a flag window again. He would not be able to take the club in the direction it is going without buy in from the powerbrokers, and i think it is likely that it is not just buy in that has hapenned but that they are driving these decisions. I think for financial reasons they want to avoid bottoming out in 2023 and 2024 if possible. Senior coach is a senior position in a club but responsibility and decisions for the overall direction of the cub would be being made above his pay grade.
Click to expand...

Well if thats the case the whole joint should just fold and we can all move on. Also shows a spineless coach if he wont stand up to the managements
 

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What's the best case scenario for 2023?

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