10 reasons why West Coast fans should be positive heading into 2025

Cam Luke has attempted to lift the spirits of Eagles fans, listing 10 reasons why West Coast supporters should be excited heading into 2025.

West Coast finished 16th this year with five wins and a Goal of the Year winner in top draft pick Harley Reid. They managed to scale the ladder by two positions after winning the wooden spoon in 2023.

1. Jake Waterman and Oscar Allen

“If these two men stay on the park together next year and go whack, good things are going to happen in particular inside 50,” Cam Luke told AFL Trade Radio.

“Oscar Allen is not going anywhere and Jake Waterman was outstanding this year.

“These two big powerful forwards are a major, major positive.”

2. The famous number 9 jumper

“They have the most marketable jumper in the history of the AFL … with the number 9 on the back.

“Ben Cousins, Nic Natanui and Harley Reid, I don’t think you can find three consecutive players that are going to dominate both on and off the field like those three men.

“Ben Cousins was massive on the field in Perth and then it was somehow overtaken by Nic Nat, and now weirdly enough Harley Reid is going to go to the next level.”

3. Players don’t leave

“Chris Judd left with a Brownlow medal and a premiership in his back pocket, and do you know who they got for him? Josh Kennedy.

“They got premiership players back for him. Their players do not leave.

“They are a football club that look after their players well.”

4. Rich, powerful and relevant

“This is a football club that is still one of the richest, powerful, and relevant in the AFL even when they don’t win football games.

“You cannot say that about any other club. When clubs struggle you see the bandwagon usually get smaller, but that does not happen to the West Coast Eagles.

“They’ve got so much cash in this club.”

5. Don Pyke as CEO

“He’s got a business mind; his business mind is tenfold on his football mind which is saying something.

“Bringing Don Pyke in made sure they will stay relevant and commercially relevant.”

6. Home ground advantage

“It is the best in the league.

“They averaged 44,000 people at their home games, when continually in the headlines for being bad and their coach is on the outer.

“They call that a sell-out, that is incredible.”

7. Shout-out to Brady Hough

“He finished high up in the best and fairest. He gets tough jobs.

“He’s had Tom Papley and Toby Greene and Shai Bolton.

“He’s had a really good year.”

8. Elliot Yeo

“The best ability is availability. There is no doubt he has been diminished in his ability to get on the field but this year he was better.

“He signed a three-year deal and he’s staying at the Eagles.”

9. They get their coaches right

“They haven’t had a great deal of coaches, in fact, Andrew McQualter will be their seventh full-time coach.

“They give them every opportunity to turn out and McQualter is about to get that.

“They were thorough, they didn’t panic or rush into it and went and got a coach who they have no doubt is the right person for the role.”

10. We should back them

“They still have a long build, and they need to work through their list.

“It is going to take some time till we see them feature prominently in September, but if there is any club we should back on and off the field to get it right, it’s this particular club.”