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Watson: 17 clubs should not suffer because Eagles are inept
SEN • October 1st, 2025 12:03 pm
The 17 clubs not receiving an AFL assistance package should not have to pay for the West Coast Eagles' ineptitude, according to Tim Watson who has voiced his frustration with the bailout.
On Tuesday it was confirmed that the 2025 wooden spooners would receive a total of four rookie list spots, with the AFL allowing the club to maintain them through until 2028.
The club has also been awarded an end of first-round draft pick for the upcoming National Draft, landing at Pick 19 prior to NGA and academy bids. They will not be required to trade the pick, instead having the ability to select a further first-round talent.
The Eagles managed just a single win in 2025, finishing dead last for the second time since 2023 and in the bottom three for four straight seasons.
Despite their struggles, Watson does not believe the AFL has done the right thing given they won the flag in 2018.
"We can give the Eagles assistance, but I think we do it in other ways," he said on SEN Breakfast.
"I don’t think the rest of the competition should pay because they have been inept and haven’t been able to manage their football club with the decisions they have made over time given they’re one of the most powerful financial clubs in the competition.
"Rather than make every other club shuffle back one place for talent in the comp by giving them a pick at the end of the first round, why don’t we give them more money to go approach and nurture other players so in their soft cap spend they can bring another development coach in.
"They’re getting all those early draft picks, they have the capital there to go to the market and find the best kids, develop them, turn them into players and make them work like everyone else in the competition has to work to make success.
"I am absolutely against this. It is tough enough to secure a talented player in the draft let alone be shuffled back one more place because there is a team out there that hasn’t been able to administer themselves."
Watson took aim at how manipulated the competition was becoming and has called for the Eagles to roll up their sleeves and graft their way back to success.
"We compromise on top of compromise on top of compromise just trying to get some artificial way to level this competition out," he continued.
"They were once the pin-up club of the competition. They’re still the wealthiest but not the pin-up any more because of where they’re at and the fact they’ve stayed down there so long.
"They, like everyone else, need to claw their way back to the top. Get good people in, make the correct decisions around their players, around their culture; they’re capable of working their back.
"They wont be a barnacle on the comp. They might be an easy-beat next year, but they are so adored they will still get full crowds week in, week out."
