They have been met with great adversity, but despite the hurdles, the West Coast Eagles continue to soar, sitting second on the ladder.
With just four losses to their name after 16 rounds, the Eagles have defied expectations, and are well on the track to secure a ticket to afourth consecutive finals campaign.
Flying forwards
To be one of the best teams in the competition, you need to be able to score freely, and the Eagles are able to do that thanks to their dynamic forwardline.
Two-time Coleman Medallist Josh Kennedy leads the charge, and is seemingly back to his best after missing a month of football with a leg injury.
He’s one of the most dangerous forwards in the competition due to his strength and overhead marking ability, and has kicked 33 goals from just 11 games - ranking him first for ‘goals per game’.
Alongside him, Jack Darling and Mark Lecras.
Darling, also missed a string of games either side of the bye, but has returned with a bang, kicking three goals in each of his two return matches to take his season tally to 34.
Another solid frame, standing at 191 centimetres and weighing 95 kilograms, Darling’s presence is just as big as Kennedy’s.
The final piece of the dynamic trio is Lecras, who is always a handful for the third defender given his experience and versatility.
Unlike Kennedy and Darling, the 31-year-old has a good run with injury this season, playing all but two games, and kicking a total of 26 goals.
Elite by foot
When you go to the football, it’s likely you’ve heard angry fans urge their favourite players to “kick the ball”, but at West Coast games, youwon’t hear it as often.
The Eagles rank first amongst the competition for total kicks, electing to go by foot on 3,871 occasions, at an average of 228, which ismore than five times per game than the Giants who rank second.
As a result, their handball numbers rank worst in the competition, averaging 129 per game, which puts them behind the Suns and Blues at 17th and 16th, respectively.
Headlining the group of kick-happy Eagles is star midfielder Andrew Gaff, who not only leads his side, but also the competition, in total kicks and kicks per game.
Gaff is averaging 18 kicks in his 17 games this season, which is rare, given the closest five players are all half-backers.
The Eagles’ kicking ability is what helps them on large grounds such as Optus Stadium, and what can often trip them up on smaller, narrower grounds such as the SCG where the play is more congested. It’s where North could seek an advantage at the smaller Blundstone Arena ground.
Ruck instability
2018 has been far from kind for the Eagles when it comes to its ruck stocks, with Nic Naitanui restricted to just 50 per cent game time for much of the season before rupturing his ACL in Round 17 against Collingwood.
It means Scott Lycett has been handed the reins, but unlike most second-string big men, Lycett is providing an equal, if not greater, output than Naitanui.
The 25-year-old has featured in every game this season and has been required to play a much greater role than most back-ups.
This season, the Eagles have been stronger offensively when Naitanui has been on the bench, in fact, West Coast averages 8.2 more points per 100 minutes without their number one ruck.
Against the Bulldogs last weekend at Optus Stadium, Lycett led the game for hit-outs and split the workload with Nathan Vardy.
With the likes of Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff and Elliot Yeo at Lycett’s feet, the Eagles are in much safer hands than many think.
