West Coast
Coach - Adam Simpson
2021 –
Points For – 9th
Points Against – 14th
Top 5 Best and Fairest
- Nic Naitanui
- Dom Sheed
- Andrew Gaff
- Jack Redden
- Jack Darling
2021 Rising Star Noms
Nil
Ins – Sam Petrevsvki-Seton, Campbell Chesser, Brady Hough, Rhett Bazzo, Jack Williams, Greg Clark,
Outs – Brendon Ah Chee, Brayden Ainsworth, Jarrod Brander, Jarrod Cameron, Will Collins, Mark Hutchins, Ben Johnson, Brad Sheppard, Nathan Vardy, Daniel Venables
My Prediction
Spending a significant period of my youth growing up in Western Australia has led my down the path of total hatred for this football team and their chardonnay sipping feral supporters. I am looking forward to watching them fill my in season facebook feed with their disappointment and I shall lap up their self entitled tears.
The backline didnt perform last year and if anything, is a little worse this year. Hurn is a gun off half back but looked a tad cooked last year, McGovern and Barrass give them their key cover and they have Duggan giving them some run. They would have hoped to have a couple more years from Sheppard and will be interesting to see how they cover his retirement, you would think Witherden is a plug and play sort of choice but he is so soft and unaccountable that its a wonder he isnt at Carlton.
The midfield looks pretty good on paper but didnt work last year. Shuey has the captaincy but also has a potentially serious leg injury and may not start the season. Gaff hasn’t looked the same player as a couple of years ago and neither has Yeo. Kelly hasnt looked the player he was in Geelong and doesnt look like he will. The midfield has the joy of being fed by NicNat and without that, the situation would be much more dire.
The forward line is an interesting one. Kennedy is a superstar, a superstar that looks well and truly past his best and should maybe have hung up the boots last year. Instead he will carry even more of the load as Darling reminds the world that he is operating off an IQ only slightly larger than his jumper number. They let Brander go and now it turns out they could have used him at either end of the field. They will need Allen and Waterman to develop even further and their small forwards to hit the scoreboard regularly. Ryan is a great player but not sure what Rioli will bring (or where he will hide it).
Nicnat is still probably the best tap ruck, he does sweet FA around the field and has bodgy knees but they need him to stay fit. He is still their most important player. No idea who their next ruck is and I dont think they do either. Simpson is a premiership winning coach, this probably buys him a little more time but West Coast fans are feral and I think they will turn on him this year.
Their list has a little premium talent although a lot of it is past it’s prime. They remind me of Hawthorn a year or two ago and I think the crash is coming. They havent had a rising star nom for a couple of years which says they have not a great deal of talent coming through. I think this year the slide begins, I think they will finish in the 12 - 14 range.
