SOPHIE GANNON: West Coast Eagles must get themselves out of their own mess without priority draft picks

On Sunday March 29, 1987, the West Coast Eagles took to the field at Subiaco Oval against Richmond in their first VFL match.

Comprised of the best players the WAFL had to offer and some prized recruits from Victorian clubs, the West Coast side wasted no time in recording their maiden victory.

The Eagles were off to a flyer.

Since then, they have been an undeniable success. After only eight seasons in the national competition, the club had already competed in three grand finals and won two flags.

A rather fast start don’t you think?

Fast forward a decade and the Eagles are launching another tilt at a flag boasting a midfield of Cox, Cousins, Judd and Kerr. And yes, two more grand finals and another flag.

Fast forward to 2015 and Simmo’s at the helm. They lose in a grand final to Hawthorn but eventually win their 4th chip in 2018.

The whole thing was going splendidly. Four flags, three Brownlow medallists, one of the richest, biggest clubs in the land with more members than they knew what to do with.

Now I’m not an Eagles supporter, but don’t get me wrong, I love seeing a Western Australian club thrive in a Victorian dominated sport.

But surely at some point they have to have a period of mediocrity.

And here we are.

At Station Deflation making small talk at the platform with the Roos.

It was bound to happen. After all, this is a draft league. It’s supposed to be the great equaliser. You have your time at the top, then you have your time at the bottom.

It’s how draft leagues function. Well, at least it’s how they are supposed to.

However, in their first 35 years they somehow avoided the gravitational pull of the bottom four, and the high-end talent that comes with it. In that time, they only finished bottom four on four occasions.

The Eagles were literally flying high.

Fast forward to now. They want help and let’s be honest — they need it.

But when the AFL receives a call from Don Pyke, CEO of the almighty, all-powerful West Coast Eagles, begging for a draft assistance package, they should immediately hang up.

After the triumph of the 2018 flag, the Eagles doubled down in 2019 and traded the farm for Tim Kelly. To be fair, most clubs would have done the same. Nonetheless it was a massive risk. Two first round picks and two second round is your future. They were happy to take the gamble because in their mind, it would return them to the promise land.

As it stands today, the result is no flags and a gaping hole in their playing list. After all, they only selected two first round picks between 2017 and 2021. Jarryd Brander (27 AFL games) and Campbell Chesser (32 games).

But that is the risk they took. They must own that now.

Draft assistance packages have been given to two clubs in recent memory. Gold Coast and North Melbourne.

North haven’t played in a grand final since the ‘90s. They play in front of half empty stadiums, sell home games for money and struggle to attract or retain quality players.

Gold Coast have never played a finals game, play in front of 15,000 at home, historically struggled to hold onto their top-end talent and play in a rugby state.

But, for Don Pyke to claim that they find themselves “right in the position” of the other clubs that received assistance is honestly comical.

If the AFL grants their request, it sets the most damning precedent that you can trade your future, reach the top of the mountain and then the AFL will bail you out when you find yourself in the valley.

Eagles fans have been spoilt for success and have enjoyed a golden era this millennium. Between 2005 and 2020 they played in a staggering 23 finals games. There’s a reason they didn’t pick in the top 10 between 2011 and 2021.

It’s simple. The AFL should not grant an assistance package to a club coming off 20 years of success while boasting over 100,000 members.

It’s not Victorian bias. It’s not a personal vendetta against the West Coast Eagles. It’s just fair.

The Eagles have been really successful for almost their entire history. It’s time they weren’t. Unlike North Melbourne and unlike the Gold Coast, they have every possible resource at their disposal to get themselves out of this mess.

It’s a mess they must clean up themselves.