Current ladder position: 15th (two wins, 12 losses)
Form: LLLLL
The run home:
Richmond (11th) at Subiaco Oval
Brisbane (6th) at the Gabba
St Kilda (8th) at Subiaco Oval
Fremantle (14th) at Subiaco Oval
Essendon (12th) at Subiaco Oval
Melbourne (16th) at the MCG
Hawthorn (3rd) at Subiaco Oval
Geelong (2nd) at Skilled Stadium
Where to from here?
West Coast plays four of its next five games at Subiaco Oval and faces last-placed Melbourne at the end of that stretch. It is a period in which the Eagles can improve on their current 2-12 record with Richmond, the Demons, Fremantle and Essendon all bottom eight sides.
With a host of young players getting opportunities, and a few more set to follow in the last eight rounds, there is plenty West Coast can gain before season's end. Confidence and a more formidable presence at the former 'house of pain' are at the top of that list, while the amount of players that warrant a spot on the club's 2009 list will determine how quickly this successful club can bounce back from a horror year.
Crunch games:
Round 18: Fremantle (a)
Round 19: Essendon (h)
Round 22: Geelong (a)
Pride is at stake in all three games and the results will reveal plenty. Losing twice in one season to the cross-town rival is unthinkable, while against the youthful Essendon, West Coast will want to show their junior stars have as much promise as those taking major steps at Windy Hill.
The low point of 2008 was the side's 135-point drubbing from Geelong in round 13; the final fixture of the season presents a chance for West Coast to show some character against the competition's benchmark.
Injury list:
Josh Kennedy (knee) test
Chad Jones (ankle) test
Adam Selwood (throat) test
Matt Spangher (shoulder) test
Shannon Hurn (fractured fibula) 1-2 weeks
Matt Rosa (ankle) 3-5 weeks
Mitchell Brown (knee) season
Beau Waters (elbow) season
Who's gonna save us?
The lack of a dominant key forward has been obvious at West Coast this season with Ben McKinley (21 goals) the leading goalkicker just 11 games into his career. Josh Kennedy has struggled with knee injuries and has only managed to string five games together in 2008. But the talented Kennedy, traded to West Coast at the end of 2007, is one youngster who could really have an impact when he returns from injury and lay the foundations for his side's forward set-up in 2009.
What the club says:
"Our squad is a young developing squad with some senior players that aren't in great touch, but they've got very strong character and they'll be a big part of us learning throughout the rest of this year.
"Confidence is about believing in what you want to do, and we believe in what we want to do, and our focus will be on becoming a premiership winning side and that will not be dented at all.
"Those who want to sulk stay in bad days and those who want to win premierships eventually win premierships. And I know which one we are." – coach John Worsfold
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
