The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football team based in Perth, Western Australia. Their 2023 season was their 37th season in the Australian Football League (AFL), their tenth season with Adam Simpson as coach, and their fourth and final season with Luke Shuey as captain. They ended the season with 3 wins and 20 losses, a percentage of 53.0%, and placed 18th (last) to “win” the wooden spoon.
Background
The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football team based in Perth, Western Australia, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). They ended the 2022 home-and-away season seventeenth, or second last, on the ladder, with only two wins and twenty losses, their worst result ever. They only narrowly avoided winning the wooden spoon because 's percentage was worse.
Prior to the start of the 2023 season, West Coast were widely expected to fare similarly to 2022. Out of a group of ten AFL.com.au journalists, all predicted that West Coast would finish the season 13th on the ladder or worse, with four predicting they would finish 16th. None of the journalists predicted that West Coast would finish last however. Fox Sports used a Pythagorean expectation formula to predict that West Coast would finish the season 17th. A group of Western Australia-based people from Nine Entertainment was more optimistic though, predicting West Coast would finish 12th, saying that they were unlucky with injuries in 2022, and that an influx of young players would help them be more competitive.
Luke Shuey was voted in as captain for the fourth consecutive season. Jeremy McGovern remained a vice-captain and was joined by Tom Barrass, who replaced Nic Naitanui who declined to continue as part of the leadership group. Adam Simpson remained as coach for his tenth season. The assistant coaches are Matthew Knights (midfield), Jarrad Schofield (strategy and stoppages), Daniel Pratt (backs) and Luke Webster (forwards). The development coaches are Jacob Brennan (development coordinator), Mark Nicoski (forwards) and Kyal Horsley (midfield).
Jayden Hunt joined West Coast as an unrestricted free agent on the first day of the 2022 trade period. He had previously played 114 games for .
Playing list Changes Josh Kennedy retired at the end of the 2022 season, as was widely expected. Jack Redden also retired at the end of the season, albeit unexpectedly.
+ Removals from playing list Player Reason Games Retired 293 (271 at West Coast) Retired 263 (234 at West Coast)
+ Additions to playing list Player Acquired Former club Former league Unrestricted free agent AFL
Statistics + Playing list and statistics (as of round 9)PlayerGamesGoalsBehindsKicksHandballsDisposalsMarksTacklesNotes/Milestone(s) 1 3 4 1 30 9 39 15 11 2 8 10 8 78 35 113 46 18 3 9 0 2 94 101 195 32 31 4 5 1 1 54 69 123 20 16 5 9 4 3 116 52 168 43 22 6 2 0 0 18 6 24 5 3 7 9 1 1 45 80 125 11 70 8 3 0 2 11 14 25 5 1 10 6 2 0 48 28 76 21 18 11 9 5 3 110 151 261 31 47 12 9 24 11 71 28 99 50 16 13 4 1 2 37 36 73 7 17 14 9 0 0 137 57 194 61 27 15 3 4 5 15 20 35 12 5 16 6 0 0 38 41 79 16 20 18 3 0 2 15 8 23 8 7 19 3 0 0 16 8 24 6 7 20 3 0 0 36 17 53 22 1 21 6 4 1 33 26 59 8 18 23 8 1 0 96 47 143 31 17 24 5 2 3 31 29 60 10 24 25 6 0 0 89 37 126 23 11 26 2 0 0 5 13 18 1 5 27 9 10 12 54 30 84 34 21 28 4 0 0 32 32 64 19 10 29 4 0 0 28 22 50 13 6 31 9 2 2 104 69 173 31 22 32 9 1 0 49 64 113 10 28 33 2 0 0 3 6 9 2 0 35 6 0 0 41 9 50 24 7 36 6 3 3 29 39 68 12 12 37 9 0 0 74 42 116 57 4 39 6 1 2 38 52 90 19 18 40 2 0 0 5 3 8 3 1 42 1 0 0 4 2 6 3 1 44 5 2 2 23 36 59 10 13 49 5 5 2 14 28 42 8 15
Season summary In the 2023 AFL season, each team played 23 games and had a mid-season bye. West Coast played , , , , , and twice, and all the other teams once. Only one game was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the venue of the grand final, against Richmond. There were three games at Adelaide Oval as a result of the Gather Round, where West Coast played in Adelaide. Other venues included four games at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne, one game at The Gabba in Brisbane, one game at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and one game against at University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania.
Results + Regular season results Round Day Date Result Score Opponent Score Ground Attendance Margin 1 Saturday 12 10 82 12 15 87 Marvel Stadium A 21,274 -5 2 Sunday 14 16 100 11 15 81 Optus Stadium H 44,649 +19 3 Sunday 9 13 67 16 12 108 Optus Stadium A 56,090 -41 4 Sunday 9 9 63 19 12 126 Optus Stadium H 42,458 -63 5 Sunday 13 11 89 21 10 136 Adelaide Oval N 30,120 -47 6 Saturday 10 9 69 16 13 109 Adelaide Oval A 31,638 -40 7 Sunday 6 8 44 23 14 152 Optus Stadium H 47,940 -108 8 Saturday 8 10 58 15 14 104 Melbourne Cricket Ground A 28,293 -46 9 Friday 6 7 43 16 17 113 Optus Stadium H 36,219 -70 10 Sunday 4 2 26 22 10 142 University of Tasmania Stadium A -116 11 Saturday 6 10 46 14 12 96 Optus Stadium H -50 12 Saturday 8 9 57 18 12 120 Optus Stadium H -63 13 Saturday 8 4 52 27 12 174 Adelaide Oval A -12214 Bye 15 Saturday 5 4 34 31 19 205 Sydney Cricket Ground A -171 16 Sunday 12 5 77 12 13 85 Optus Stadium H -817 Saturday 5 5 35 16 20 116 The Gabba A -8118 Sunday 8 12 60 14 14 98 Optus Stadium H -3819 Saturday 10 9 69 21 14 140 Marvel Stadium A -7120 Sunday 10 12 72 10 7 67 Optus Stadium H +521 Saturday 11 6 72 10 13 73 Marvel Stadium A -122 Saturday 4 9 33 20 14 134 Optus Stadium H -10123 Sunday 14 8 92 12 13 85 Marvel Stadium A +724 Saturday 12 6 78 17 21 123 Optus Stadium H -45
+KeyH Home gameA Away gameN Neutral game
Ladder
WAFL team Robert Wiley was West Coast's WAFL coach.
Awards Reuben Ginbey was nominated for the Rising Star award in round three, making him the first Rising Star nomination from West Coast since Oscar Allen in round 21, 2019. Jai Culley was nominated for the Rising Star award in round six.
+ Awards received by West Coast players Award Awarded by Player Result Rising Star Australian Football League Reuben Ginbey (round 3) Jai Culley (round 6)
References