2021 West Coast Eagles season

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West Coast Eagles
2021 season
CoachAdam Simpson
(8th season)
Captain(s)Luke Shuey
(2nd season)
Home groundOptus Stadium
AFL season9th
Best and FairestNic Naitanui
Leading goalkickerJack Darling (42)
Highest home attendance50,834 vs. Richmond (Round 13)
Lowest home attendance0 vs. Fremantle (Round 7) and Western Bulldogs (Round 15)
Club membership106,422
← 2020 2022 →

The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football team based in Perth, Western Australia. Their 2021 season was their 35th season in the Australian Football League (AFL), their eighth season under premiership coach Adam Simpson, and their second season with Luke Shuey as captain. Having finished in the top eight every season since 2015, it was expected that West Coast would do the same in 2021. They won eight of their first thirteen matches, including an unexpected win against Port Adelaide, and a 97-point thrashing by Geelong, placing them seventh on the ladder before their midseason bye. They continued on to lose seven of their remaining nine matches, including a 92-point loss to Sydney, and their first Western Derby loss since 2015, causing them to finish ninth, missing finals.

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to have an impact on the season, with crowd restrictions at some matches and some changes to the fixture during the season. Jack Darling, who kicked 42 goals, was the club's leading goal-scorer for the fourth time in his career. Nic Naitanui was the only Eagle to be in the All-Australian squad. Nic Naitanui was West Coast's best and fairest player, winning the John Worsfold Medal. 2021 was the second year for West Coast in the AFL Women's competition, in which they finished twelfth. It was also the second year in which West Coast fielded a team in the Western Australian Football League, after having withdrawn in 2020.

Background[edit]

Male footballer in guernsey and shorts jogging
Male football coach walking
Luke Shuey (captain) and Adam Simpson (coach)

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 2020 home-and-away season fifth on the ladder. Their season ended after Collingwood beat them in the first week of the finals.

In the off season, Luke Shuey was named captain of the West Coast Eagles for the second year in a row. Jeremy McGovern was named the sole vice-captain, having been in the role alongside Josh Kennedy in 2020. Kennedy and Nic Naitanui rounded out 2021's reduced leadership group as deputy vice-captains.[1] Adam Simpson was head coach for an eighth season. There was a shake-up in assistant coaching roles following several assistant coaches leaving. The assistant coaches were Luke Webster (forwards), Adrian Hickmott (midfield) and Jaymie Graham (backs). The head of development was Gavin Bell, and the other development coaches were Mark Nicoski, Kyal Horsley and Daniel Pratt. Pratt was also the AFL Women's coach and WAFL coach.[2][3]

West Coast continued with fast food outlet Hungry Jack's and online mortgage broker Lendi as their major sponsors for 2021.[4] Their new clothing manufacturer was British sportswear company Castore, who signed a three-year contract with West Coast.[5] The club had 106,422 members in 2021, narrowly beating Richmond to have the most out of any AFL club for the second year in a row.[6][7]

Playing list[edit]

Changes[edit]

At the end of their 2020 season, West Coast delisted Hamish Brayshaw, Nic Reid, Francis Watson, Anthony Treacy and Mitch O'Neill.[8] Lewis Jetta was delisted after the trade period after having only played 6 AFL matches in 2020.[9] Daniel Venables was delisted after spending the previous season and a half unable to play due to concussion,[10] however he would later be selected by West Coast in the rookie draft.[11]

West Coast's first trade of the 2020 trade period was with Greater Western Sydney, who gave Zac Langdon to the Eagles in exchange for pick 54.[12] In their second trade, Tom Hickey was traded to Sydney after he requested to do so in order to be closer to his Queensland family and be selected for more games. Hickey only played 3 matches for West Coast in 2020, due to Nic Naitanui's good form and injury free season. As part of that trade, West Coast gave picks 34 and 60 to Sydney, and received picks 58, 62, a future second round pick tied to Port Adelaide, and a future third round pick.[13] West Coast's final trade was with Brisbane Lions for Alex Witherden. The Eagles gave Brisbane pick 58 and a future third round pick, and received pick 86.[14]

In the 2020 AFL draft, Luke Edwards (pick 52), from South Australia, and Isiah Winder (pick 57), from Western Australia were drafted.[15] Harry Edwards was elevated from the rookie list, signing on until 2022, and Mark Hutchings was moved from the senior list to the rookie list.[16] Zane Trew (pick 12) and Daniel Venables (pick 27) were drafted in the 2021 rookie draft.[11]

Prior to the 2021 mid-season draft, West Coast put Daniel Venables and Jarrod Cameron on the inactive list, allowing them to select two players in the mid-season draft. Venables was put on the inactive list due to still being unable to play due to a concussion he suffered in round nine of 2019, and Cameron because of a season-ending ankle injury he received in the Eagles' WAFL team.[17][18] At the mid-season draft, West Coast selected Will Collins (pick 11) and Connor West (pick 23).[19][20]

Removals from playing list
Player Reason Games played Ref.
Hamish Brayshaw Delisted 1 [8]
Nic Reid Delisted 3 [8]
Francis Watson Delisted 2 [8]
Anthony Treacy Delisted 0 [8]
Mitch O'Neill Delisted 0 [8]
Tom Hickey Traded to Sydney 102 (23 at West Coast) [13]
Lewis Jetta Delisted 202 (75 at West Coast) [9]
Daniel Venables Delisted 21 (21 at West Coast) [10]
Additions to playing list
Player Acquired Former club Former league Ref.
Zac Langdon Traded from Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney AFL [12]
Alex Witherden Traded from Brisbane Lions Brisbane Lions AFL [14]
Luke Edwards No. 52, 2020 national draft Glenelg SANFL [15]
Isiah Winder No. 57, 2020 national draft Peel Thunder WAFL [15]
Harry Edwards Rookie elevation West Coast AFL [16]
Zane Trew No. 12, 2021 rookie draft Swan Districts WAFL [11]
Daniel Venables No. 27, 2021 rookie draft West Coast AFL [11]
Will Collins No. 11, 2021 mid-season draft Swan Districts WAFL [20]
Connor West No. 23, 2021 mid-season draft West Perth WAFL [20]

Statistics[edit]

Playing list and statistics[21]
Player No. Games Goals Behinds Kicks Handballs Disposals Marks Tackles Notes/Milestone(s)
Liam Ryan 1 14 24 10 116 28 144 55 21
Jake Waterman 2 14 13 8 129 44 173 89 27
Andrew Gaff 3 21 3 1 343 234 577 140 35
Dom Sheed 4 22 9 6 320 259 579 108 51
Brad Sheppard 5 20 0 0 220 127 347 129 32 200th AFL game (round 4)[22]
Elliot Yeo 6 12 3 7 150 114 264 27 63
Zac Langdon 7 17 6 7 81 101 182 55 35 West Coast debut (round 1)[23]
Jack Redden 8 18 3 1 208 235 443 104 71
Nic Naitanui 9 22 3 7 154 181 335 34 65 200th AFL game (round 18)[24]
Jarrod Brander 10 11 5 6 108 60 168 53 11
Tim Kelly 11 19 6 8 245 209 454 62 64
Oscar Allen 12 21 28 16 154 58 212 99 39
Luke Shuey 13 7 0 1 104 57 161 23 30
Liam Duggan 14 14 0 0 188 77 265 94 30
Jamie Cripps 15 22 26 26 205 109 314 82 86
Luke Edwards 16 8 0 1 57 43 100 26 10
Josh Kennedy 17 18 41 21 131 47 178 89 21 250th West Coast game (round 15)
Daniel Venables 18 0 — — — — — — — Rookie, Long-term injury (concussion)
Nathan Vardy 19 9 5 0 18 20 38 13 11
Jeremy McGovern 20 15 0 0 196 50 246 111 15
Jack Petruccelle 21 17 16 8 108 69 177 59 27
Isiah Winder 22 1 1 0 2 3 5 1 1 AFL debut (round 4)[25]
Alex Witherden 23 9 1 0 166 34 200 59 18 West Coast debut (round 5)
Xavier O'Neill 24 8 1 1 47 37 84 16 15
Shannon Hurn 25 15 0 0 260 67 327 103 24
Zane Trew 26 0 — — — — — — — Rookie
Jack Darling 27 22 42 19 176 91 267 123 53
Tom Cole 28 22 0 0 203 98 301 105 44
Luke Foley 29 6 1 0 53 21 74 23 7
Jackson Nelson 30 19 0 1 176 57 233 76 26
Jamaine Jones 31 15 11 3 64 37 101 21 47 Rookie
Bailey Williams 32 6 3 3 23 12 35 15 8
Brayden Ainsworth 33 2 0 0 0 4 4 1 0
Mark Hutchings 34 4 0 0 23 15 38 9 8 Rookie
Josh Rotham 35 19 0 1 232 73 305 161 18
Connor West 36 5 1 4 35 28 63 16 13 Rookie, AFL debut (round 18)[24]
Tom Barrass 37 16 0 0 168 53 221 117 10
Ben Johnson 38 0 — — — — — — —
Jarrod Cameron 39 0 — — — — — — —
Callum Jamieson 40 0 — — — — — — —
Brendon Ah Chee 41 6 5 2 29 39 68 12 14 Rookie
Harry Edwards 42 10 0 0 75 28 103 53 20
Will Collins 43 0 — — — — — — — Rookie
Willie Rioli 44 0 — — — — — — — Suspended until 20 August[26]

Season summary[edit]

The fixture for the 2021 season was revealed in December 2020, with each team scheduled to play 22 matches and have a mid-season bye, as was normal prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the first six rounds had times and dates set for the matches, with the remaining dates released as the season progressed.[27] West Coast are scheduled to play Adelaide, Collingwood, Fremantle, St Kilda and Western Bulldogs twice, and the other teams once each.[28]

Rounds 1–12[edit]

West Coast's first match of the season was against Gold Coast on a 37 °C (99 °F) day at Optus Stadium. The Eagles beat the Suns by 25 points, although for the first three quarters, the two teams were neck and neck. Oscar Allen kicked a career-best 4 goals.[29][30] In round 2, West Coast played Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium. After the Eagles were ahead by 14 points at three quarter time, the Bulldogs came from behind to win by seven points. West Coast's slow and steady kick–mark style of gameplay contrasted with the Bulldogs' high-speed, handball-heavy style.[31][32] The game was described by AFL Media and ABC News as the best so far in the season.[33][34] The following round, on Easter Saturday, West Coast comfortably beat Port Adelaide at home. The first half of the match saw the Eagles kick ten goals to Port Adelaide's two. The second half was much more even. Port Adelaide were unable to make a comeback, but were able to stop West Coast gaining a large amount of percentage on the ladder. The game finished with West Coast on 108 points and Port Adelaide on 71 points.[35][36] Liam Ryan took one of his greatest marks off the back of Darcy Byrne-Jones. Max Laughton of Fox Sports described it as "one of the all-time great speckies".[37] The win was marred by Luke Shuey injuring his hamstring, the match being his first one back after a pre-season hamstring injury.[38] During the week after, Shuey had surgery on his hamstring tendon. West Coast stated that he would not be in any matches until at least after the Round 13 bye.[39]

In round 4, West Coast faced St Kilda at Marvel Stadium. With the Saints coming off a thrashing in round 3, West Coast were the favourites to win. The Eagles looked like winning for most of the game, leading by up to 33 points during the third quarter, however, St Kilda made a comeback, kicking the final eight goals of the match, handing West Coast a 20 point loss. A calf injury to Shannon Hurn enabled debutant Isiah Winder to come onto the ground as a medical substitute, who scored a goal with his first kick.[25][40] During the following week, Liam Ryan suffered a bone stress injury on his knee, ruling him out of playing for an expected eight weeks, and Jack Petruccelle suffered a hamstring injury, ruling him out for two weeks.[41][42] The following round, West Coast played Collingwood at Optus Stadium. The Eagles won the match with 103 points to Collingwood's 76 points. Jack Darling and Oscar Allen kicked five goals each. Alex Witherden also played well on his West Coast debut, with 30 disposals and six rebound 50s.[42][43] Collingwood's Mark Keane was suspended for one week due to tripping Josh Kennedy. Kennedy missed the following match as a result, with Adam Simpson describing him as "a bit sore".[44] West Coast's round 6 match was against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium, a ground the Eagles have not won at since 2006. West Coast were thrashed by 97 points. The Eagles scored three goals to Geelong's two in the first quarter, but after quarter time, Geelong dominated. To make matters worse for West Coast, Jeremy McGovern received a groin injury. The loss was their largest loss with Adam Simpson as coach, and largest loss since 2009.[45][46]

Going into round 7, West Coast were the most injury hit team in the AFL. The players on the injury list had a total of 1,191 games of experience. Among those injured were Tom Barrass, Shannon Hurn, Jeremy McGovern, Liam Ryan, Luke Shuey and Elliot Yeo.[47] In round 7, West Coast played Fremantle in a highly anticipated Western Derby. With the Eagles sitting tenth on the ladder after a brutal loss, and the Dockers sitting at eighth on the ladder and a full win ahead of West Coast, it was looking like Fremantle's best chance since 2015 to break their 10 derby losing streak.[48][49] However, after a close opening half, West Coast ran away with the win, with the final score being 132 to 73. The goalkicking accuracy of both teams was commended, Dermott Brereton saying "This is like a showpiece game" while commentating.[50][51] Tim Kelly won the Glendinning–Allan Medal after having a career-high 42 disposals and game-high 14 clearances.[51][52] The following round, West Coast got their first win outside their state, beating Hawthorn by 38 points at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Unusually, neither team scored a goal in the first quarter. Brendon Ah Chee scored four goals in what was his first game in 2021.[53][54] Then in round 9, West Coast beat Adelaide 106 to 76 at Optus Stadium. Jack Darling's second quarter was a standout, kicking five goals, including a nutmeg between Brodie Smith's legs.[55][56] The game was the first game back from injury for Tom Barrass and Jeremy McGovern.[57]

Liam Ryan made an earlier than expected return from injury in round 10 against Greater Western Sydney.[58] The Giants gave West Coast yet another interstate loss, their fourth out of five interstate games at the time. The first three quarters saw twelve lead changes, with neither team being able to create a margin larger than two goals until the last quarter, where the Giants were able to get the final margin to 16 points. The Eagles had 31 less tackles than the Giants, and were criticised as looking disinterested throughout the match. Round 10 was Shannon Hurn's 291st match for West Coast, surpassing Dean Cox as having played the most matches for West Coast.[59][60] The following round, Elliot Yeo was a surprise inclusion, being picked to play against Essendon after having been out with osteitis pubis for the previous nine months. Yeo had played for the Eagles' WAFL team the previous week as a way of gradually getting him back playing, however he was not expected to be playing in the AFL until after the bye round.[61][62] During round 11, Essendon gave West Coast their first loss at home. The Eagles gave away a 29 point margin in the second quarter to end up with a 16 point loss. West Coast also sustained several injuries during the loss. Tim Kelly received a groin injury and Oscar Allen received a concussion and neck injury.[63][64][65] Kelly and Allen were omitted from the team for round 12, along with Josh Kennedy, Alex Witherden, Jarrod Brander and Brendon Ah Chee, who were all injured.[66] The odds looked to be against West Coast for their match against Carlton in round 12, but the Eagles were able to get their first win at the Sydney Cricket Ground since 1999, beating Carlton by 22 points. Liam Ryan stood out, garnering 17 touches and four goals,[67][68] and Luke Edwards was solid on debut.[69]

Rounds 13–23[edit]

West Coast had a comeback win against Richmond in round 13 at Optus Stadium. The Tigers, who were the reigning premiers, and had an equal number of wins to West Coast at the time, lead by 22 points in the middle of the final quarter, however the Eagles kicked the final four goals. Josh Kennedy kicked the final goal with just 36 seconds to go, giving West Coast a four point lead. Two intercept marks by Shannon Hurn in the final two minutes of the game prevented Richmond from kicking the winning goal. The win gave West Coast an 8 point gap on the ladder from the teams outside the top eight.[70][71] West Coast then had a bye in round 14. After they bye, they faced Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium. The Bulldogs thrashed the Eagles by 55 points, in what was West Coast's greatest ever loss and lowest score at Optus Stadium. At half time, West Coast's score was 16 points, having kicked just one goal in each quarter. The Bulldogs had 36 points, after inaccurate kicking caused them to have 12 behinds and 4 goals. The third quarter was evenly matched, with the Eagles kicking 20 points and the Bulldogs kicking 21. The Western Bulldogs ran away with the win in the fourth quarter though, kicking 41 points compared to the Eagles' 7.[72][73]

West Coast suffered an even worse defeat against Sydney in round 16 at GMHBA Stadium, losing 26–118. This was West Coast's lowest score since round 23, 1992, and their third lowest ever. This was West Coast's second game at GMHBA Stadium in 2021, after their 97 point defeat at the hands of Geelong, and their eighth straight defeat at that ground, with an average margin 68 points.[74] Fox Footy commentator David King said "we might be seeing the end of an era here. We might just be seeing the West Coast campaign of four of five years tip over the edge."[75] Dom Sheed had a game-high 37 possessions, earning him 1 Brownlow Medal vote, despite the large loss. The Eagles then received their third loss in a row, against the last-on-the-ladder North Melbourne.

Results[edit]

AAMI Community Series results
Game Day Date Result Score Opponent Score Ground Attendance
G B T G B T
1 Sunday 7 March Won 9 13 67 Fremantle 8 9 57 Optus Stadium 20,116
Regular season results[76]
Round Day Date Result Score Opponent Score Ground Attendance Ladder
G B T G B T
1 Sunday 21 March Won 12 10 83 Gold Coast 8 10 58 Optus Stadium H 38,431 2nd
2 Sunday 28 March Lost 14 9 93 Western Bulldogs 14 16 100 Marvel Stadium A 21,391 7th
3 Saturday 3 April Won 16 12 108 Port Adelaide 11 5 71 Optus Stadium H 42,090 5th
4 Saturday 10 April Lost 13 4 82 St Kilda 15 12 102 Marvel Stadium A 16,710 6th
5 Friday 16 April Won 16 7 103 Collingwood 11 10 76 Optus Stadium H 54,159 6th
6 Saturday 24 April Lost 5 9 39 Geelong 21 10 136 GMHBA Stadium A 21,282 10th
7 Sunday 2 May Won 20 12 132 Fremantle 11 7 73 Optus Stadium H 0 8th
8 Sunday 9 May Won 14 14 98 Hawthorn 8 12 60 Melbourne Cricket Ground A 15,277 7th
9 Sunday 16 May Won 16 10 106 Adelaide 11 10 76 Optus Stadium H 43,427 7th
10 Sunday 23 May Lost 11 11 77 Greater Western Sydney 13 15 93 GIANTS Stadium A 9,046 7th
11 Saturday 29 May Lost 11 5 71 Essendon 12 15 87 Optus Stadium H 41,883 7th
12 Sunday 6 June Won 14 11 95 Carlton 10 13 73 Sydney Cricket Ground A 5,137 7th
13 Sunday 13 June Won 13 7 85 Richmond 12 9 81 Optus Stadium H 50,834 7th
14 Bye 7th
15 Sunday 27 June Lost 6 7 43 Western Bulldogs 13 20 98 Optus Stadium H 0 7th
16 Sunday 4 July Lost 3 8 26 Sydney 18 10 118 GMHBA Stadium A 9,520 7th
17 Monday 12 July Lost 8 12 60 North Melbourne 10 10 70 Optus Stadium H 30,515 8th
18 Sunday 18 July Won 14 14 98 Adelaide 8 8 56 Adelaide Oval A 24,554 7th
19 Saturday 24 July Won 14 10 94 St Kilda 13 8 86 Optus Stadium H 43,657 7th
20 Saturday 31 July Lost 6 9 45 Collingwood 14 6 90 Melbourne Cricket Ground A 0 7th
21 Monday 9 August Lost 9 9 63 Melbourne 10 12 72 Optus Stadium H 31,584 7th
22 Sunday 15 August Lost 9 10 64 Fremantle 12 7 79 Optus Stadium A 51,692 9th
23 Saturday 21 August Lost 13 9 87 Brisbane Lions 19 11 125 Gabba A 21,845 9th
Key
H Home game
A Away game

Ladder[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W L D PF PA PP Pts Qualification
1 Melbourne (P) 22 17 4 1 1888 1443 130.8 70 Finals series
2 Port Adelaide 22 17 5 0 1884 1492 126.3 68
3 Geelong 22 16 6 0 1845 1456 126.7 64
4 Brisbane Lions 22 15 7 0 2131 1599 133.3 60
5 Western Bulldogs 22 15 7 0 1994 1501 132.8 60
6 Sydney 22 15 7 0 1986 1656 119.9 60
7 Greater Western Sydney 22 11 10 1 1768 1773 99.7 46
8 Essendon 22 11 11 0 1953 1790 109.1 44
9 West Coast 22 10 12 0 1752 1880 93.2 40
10 St Kilda 22 10 12 0 1644 1796 91.5 40
11 Fremantle 22 10 12 0 1578 1825 86.5 40
12 Richmond 22 9 12 1 1743 1780 97.9 38
13 Carlton 22 8 14 0 1746 1972 88.5 32
14 Hawthorn 22 7 13 2 1629 1912 85.2 32
15 Adelaide 22 7 15 0 1616 1971 82.0 28
16 Gold Coast 22 7 15 0 1430 1863 76.8 28
17 Collingwood 22 6 16 0 1557 1818 85.6 24
18 North Melbourne 22 4 17 1 1458 2075 70.3 18
Updated to match(es) played on 21 August 2021. Source: AFL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Impact of COVID-19[edit]

At the start of the season, stadiums in Western Australia were restricted to 75% capacity due to restrictions brought about by to the COVID-19 pandemic. Optus Stadium's capacity under these restrictions was 45,000 spectators.[77] From 11 April onwards, capacity limits were removed, enabling crowds of 60,000 to attend Optus Stadium.[78]

On 29 April, the Thursday before the first Western Derby, Western Australian premier Mark McGowan announced that sporting venues in the state would be at 75% capacity from 1 May to 7 May, and that crowds would be required to wear masks. This came after a three day lockdown on the previous weekend for Perth and Peel due to a COVID-19 positive man being out in public for four days. Crowds were not permitted at sporting events since the lockdown started, but West Coast did not have any matches in Perth during that time.[79][80] On 2 May, the day of the first Western Derby, McGowan announced that crowds were not allowed at sporting events in the state due to a separate incident where a hotel quarantine security guard and two of his close contacts tested positive to COVID-19. As a result, one of the state's most important sporting events had no crowd.[81][82] On 15 April, capacity limits were removed again.[83]

West Coast's round 12 match against Carlton, which was originally going to be at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), was moved to the Sydney Cricket Ground in response to Victoria's fourth COVID-19 lockdown.[84] Due to that lockdown, Richmond played their round 12 match against Essendon at Optus Stadium instead of the MCG. Richmond then travelled to Sydney before coming back to Perth for round 13, avoiding going to Victoria. West Coast's round 14 match against Richmond was moved forward to the Sunday of round 13. No other fixtures had to be changed because both West Coast and Richmond were scheduled to have a bye in round 13.[85][86]

At 11:00 am on the day of West Coast's round 15 match against the Western Bulldogs, just hours before the match went ahead, the Government of Western Australia banned crowds at large sporting events after a positive COVID-19 in Perth. This resulted in a crowd of 0 for the second time this season for West Coast.[87]

Due to New South Wales's June COVID-19 outbreak, the Sydney Swans were relocated to Victoria. West Coast played their round 16 match against Sydney at GMHBA Stadium instead of the Sydney Cricket Ground as previously scheduled.[88]

Awards[edit]

Male athlete with dreadlocks in an Australian rules football game
Nic Naitanui won the John Worsfold Medal.

Liam Ryan was nominated for Mark of the Year for his round 3 mark off the back of Port Adelaide's Darcy Byrne-Jones and in round 12 against Carlton.[89] Nic Naitanui was the only Eagle to be selected in the 40-man initial All-Australian squad.[90][91] Oscar Allen was the only Eagle to be selected in the 22 Under 22 team, announced on 26 August. The 22 Under 22 team is an honorary team created by the AFL Players' Association to recognise the 22 best players at or under 22 years old.[92][93]

West Coast held their awards night on 15 September. Nic Naitanui won the John Worsfold Medal for best and fairest player. This made him the fourth West Coast player to win the award twice in a row, following Glen Jakovich, Ben Cousins and Elliot Yeo. He won it with 200 points, ahead of Dom Sheed (160), Andrew Gaff (149), Jack Redden (137) and Jack Darling (136). Points are given after each match, where four members of the match committee give each player 0 to 3 points. Other awards presented on the night were the Chris Mainwaring Medal for Best Clubman, awarded to Liam Duggan; Emerging Talent, awarded to Harry Edwards; Leading Goalkicker, awarded to Jack Darling, who had 42 goals; WAFL Eagles Best and Fairest, awarded to Kieren Hug; and the Eagles in the Community Award, given to Josh Kennedy and Jessy Edmunds (staff).[94][95]

Awards received by West Coast players
Award Awarded by Player Result Ref.
Mark of the Year Australian Football League Liam Ryan (round 3) Nominated [89]
Liam Ryan (round 12) Nominated
All-Australian team Nic Naitanui Shortlisted [90]
22 Under 22 team AFL Players' Association Oscar Allen Selected [93]
John Worsfold Medal West Coast Eagles Nic Naitanui Won [94]
Chris Mainwaring Medal Liam Duggan Won
Emerging Talent Harry Edwards Won
Leading Goalkicker Jack Darling Won
WAFL Eagles Best and Fairest Kieren Hug Won
Eagles in the Community Award Josh Kennedy Won
Jessy Edmunds Won

WAFL team[edit]

See also: 2021 WAFL season

West Coast's WAFL team was captained by Hamish Brayshaw.[96] At the end of the season, they had four wins and fourteen losses, placing them last on the ladder.[97]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ O'Donoghue, Craig. "West Coast Eagles name Jeremy McGovern as sole vice-captain for 2021 AFL season". The West Australian. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Every club's coaching line-up: Huge moves at Roos, Dockers, Tigers". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Coaches (AFL)". West Coast Eagles. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Partners". West Coast Eagles. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Why West Coast Eagles jumpers will have new wings in 2021". The West Australian. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  6. ^ Rogers, Samantha. "West Coast Eagles remain top of AFL membership ladder, double Fremantle Dockers' tally". The West Australian. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Statement: AFL club membership breaks all-time record". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
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  9. ^ a b "West Coast Eagles delist Lewis Jetta ahead of 2021 AFL season". ABC News. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  10. ^ a b Woodcock, Mitchell. "Daniel Venables delisted by West Coast Eagles amid concussion battle". The West Australian. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d Keating, Mitch. "EVERY pick from the AFL Pre-Season and Rookie Drafts". Zero Hanger. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
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  15. ^ a b c Reilly, Eliza. "AFL Draft 2020: West Coast Eagles pick up Luke Edwards and Isiah Winder". Perth Now. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
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  33. ^ Twomey, Callum. "What a game! Bont inspires Dogs in an instant classic". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  34. ^ Nicholson, Alister. "Western Bulldogs and West Coast Eagles showcased Australian rules football in its purest form". ABC News. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
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  36. ^ "West Coast beats Port Adelaide by 37 points, Sydney downs Richmond by 45, Essendon thrashes St Kilda by 75". ABC News. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  37. ^ Laughton, Max. "'Knocked his head on the moon!' Flyin' Ryan's all-time specky stuns AFL world". Fox Sports. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
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