West Coast
Coach - Adam Simpson
2020 –
Points For – 7th
Points Against – 6th
Top 5 Best and Fairest
- Nic Natanui
- Andrew Gaff
- Brad Sheppard
- Tom Barrass
- Liam Duggan
2020 Rising Star Noms
Nil
Ins – Zac Langdon, Alex Witherden, Luke Edwards, Isiah Winder, Zane Trew
Outs – Hamish Brayshaw, Tom Hickey, Lewis Jetta, Mitch O’Neill, Nic Reid, Will Schofield, Anthong Treacy, Francis Watson
My Prediction
West Coast would have had much grander plans than the way last year played out. They had the age profile and talent to really give it a run but they never really got traction. The early hub live through them out and they never seemed to find their way after that. There were some good wins and they just missed top four but didn’t feel like they were going to get it done.
The backline is built around their big three of McGovern, Barrass and Hurn. They have brought in Witherden who has great footskills but may be the softest backman in the competition. It will be interesting to see how they use him. They have Sheppard and Duggan down back. It isn’t a sexy backline but it is a very competent one.
The midfield has looked like a strength and the adding of Tim Kelly makes it look like an amazing midfield on paper but last year it also just failed to click as they would have hoped. Kelly alongside Gaff, Yeo and Shuey is a pretty good top four midfielders and could see them changing things this year.
The forward line revolves around Kennedy and Darling who are still a pretty handy combination. I thought Kennedy showed signs of slowing last year but they have Allen and Waterman coming through. I think Langdon will get games early and look to form a combination with Liam Ryan to create havoc.
The ruck situation improved remarkedly last year with NicNat keeping his knee in one piece. They are a much better team with him feeding the midfield. The coach has plenty of credits in the bank and seems to have the players working to his game plan.
West Coast is facing a challenging next few years and I think this might be their last year where they fancy themselves as a genuine challenger. They will need to make the top four as their form away from home is still not ideal. When I look at the teams around them, it is going to need a big run from their midfield and for them to find the chemistry that looked to be missing last year. I think they may actually slide a little this year. 6-8 for mine.