Your 2023 West Coast Eagles season preview is here, just in time for the start of the new AFL season! Everything you need to know about the Eagles is here, all in the one article – aren't you lucky. We’ve got information about squad changes, rankings and stats from last year, key matches to look for, as well as none other than ex-AFL star Heath Shaw’s opinion on how the Eagles will go this season.
Let’s get cracking shall we!
Recruitment Report
Let’s take a little look at the new signings for the Eagles, along with all the players they’ve parted ways with:
Ins: Jordyn Baker, Harry Barnett, Coby Burgiel, Tyrell Dewar, Reuben Ginbey, Elijah Hewett, Jayden Hunt and Noah Long
Outs: Hugh Dixon, Tom Joyce, Josh Kennedy, Zac Langdon, Patrick Naish, Jackson Nelson, Jack Redden and Junior Rioli
2022 Rankings
Where did the Eagles rank for disposals in the AFL last season? Or what about clangers? All the key rankings for the Eagles are below:
Kicks: 16th
Handballs: 17th
Disposals: 17th
Marks: 7th
Hit-outs: 16th
Frees For: 13th
Frees Against: 14th
Goals: 17th
Behinds: 18th
2022 Stats
Who had the most goals for the Eagles? Who had the most marks? All these stats and more can be found below:
Most Disposals: Jack Redden - 456
Most Tackles: Jack Redden - 110
Most Clearances: Luke Shuey - 99
Most Marks: Liam Duggan - 148
Most Goals: Joshua Kennedy - 37
3 Key Matches To Watch
These are the key matches you can’t miss if you’re an Eagles fan (up to Round 15):
Match 1: Round 3, vs Dockers, at Optus Stadium (Sun, Apr 2, 5:20pm)
Match 2: Round 12, vs Magpies, at Optus Stadium (Sat, Jun 3, 4:35pm)
Match 3: Round 15, vs Swans, at SCG (Sat, Jun 24, 4:35pm)
2023 AFL Season Expectations
Where do we start? Seems like the Eagles were the only team in the AFL to catch long COVID, nothing has gone right the past 2 years. Rough few years over in the west – form, injuries, list, game style, etc. all played a part.
It’s rebuild time I think, so no doubt you will see plenty of youth and some regulars from the past kicking the dew off in the reserves. The Eagles do have some quality players still and mixing them in with the youth will only speed up their development.
Predicted Finish: Bottom 4
