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"It's a shame": Why the Eagles will finish last in 2026
Connor Scanlon • January 24th, 2026 5:38 pm
How far can West Coast progress in 2026?
2025 was yet another forgetful year for the Eagles, finishing last for the second time in the last three seasons.
Winning just only one game - four less than any other team - the Eagles were smashed pillar to post in every asset of the game throughout the entire season.
However, In the 2026 off-season West Coast aggressively revamped their list, headlined by the additions of the No. 1 draft pick Willem Duursma, No. 4 pick Cooper Duff-Tytler, first-round selection Josh Lindsay, and experienced AFL players Brandon Starcevich, Finlay Macrae, Deven Robertson and Harry Schoenberg.
But will those inclusions improve their side in 2026? Josh Jenkins has analysed both the floor and the ceiling of what West Coast can produce in 2026.
Ceiling
“The ceiling for them is six wins. It is (a big improvement)," Jenkins told SEN’s The Run Home.
“I think they can (win six), if enough things go right, I'd like to think they could win six."
When looking at the reasons why West Coast could potentially improve in 2026, Jenkins believes that the Eagles' handy inclusions and emerging stars should definitely help the team in both this year and the year's coming.
"Let's look at some of the players that should help them improve this year and moving forward," Jenkins said.
“I've been reading Jake Waterman has looked sensational across the summer - he's key. He's been an All-Australian forward, so he's gonna be important for them, particularly with Oscar Allen (gone).
“Brandon Starcevich hopefully plays each and every week for them - all of a sudden just adds a bit of stability, and is someone that is hard to play against in inside forward 50 for the opposition.
“Deven Robertson gets his opportunity to just add a bit around the ball.
“I think we should see even more from Ryan Maric where they try and settle him on a wing or behind the ball.
“Harley Reid should again improve. Whether he improves 1% or 14%, he should be improving.
“I really like Tom McCarthy, the mid-season pick that just rolled straight into their team and looked like one of their best two or three players, again, has looked pretty good (in pre-season) they tell me.
“I like their young tall's, I really do. I like Jobe Shanahan, I like Archer Reid.
“The youngster they drafted, the ruck-forward (Cooper) Duff-Tytler, if he can play the game at all, he is going to be a beloved figure with that name.
“And I was talking to Mitch Duncan, who's now an assistant coach at West Coast, and he was raving about CDT (Cooper Duff-Tytler).
“Maybe I’m being a bit generous with six but I'd like to think they could be competitive in every second game."
Floor
“I mean they won one goddamn game last year, so the floor for them would be one win again," Jenkins said.
“If you asked me to choose which is more likely, six wins or one win, I would say one win and I wouldn't hesitate.
“It's a shame, but that's just where they're at."
In fact, Jenkins believes it is the best bet of all time for the Eagles to finish last in 2026.
“I don't see how the $2.75 (price) is not the best bet since betting was invented for them to finish last," exclaimed Jenkins.
“I mean who finishes lower than them?”
Explaining why West Coast will win the wooden spoon again, Jenkins stated that the Eagles' youngsters simply aren't experienced enough physically to compete against the rest of the competition.
“I haven't really factored in anything from those draft picks because they're just sight unseen,” Jenkins stated.
“To say, ‘Oh, well all of a sudden their midfield is better because they've got Willem Duursma’, we all hope so, but I mean at this point he's unexposed.
“I like what they've got from a key position perspective for their young tall’s, but they're not really gonna help them win games this season.
“You think about CDT coming up against Harris Andrews, it's just not a fair fight yet."
Furthermore, the experienced stars from the Eagles, such as Elliot Yeo and Tim Kelly either can't get their body right or aren't preforming up to their peak anymore - an issue which Jenkins believes need to be fixed, if West Coast are to get multiple wins on the board this year.
“Some of the experience that's still there, (Elliot) Yeo, Tim Kelly have either been injured or underperforming," Jenkins stated.
“They need those guys to really play to their absolute maximum to help them be competitive.
“You line up Jobe Shanahan, Archer Reid, and Duff-Tytler against the key position players from opposition teams - they're gonna get hammered.
“These kids might mark it once, and we are gonna say, ‘Bang, we know that's gonna be a player at some point.’
“But that's not gonna be next year.
“That's why experienced players like Tim Kelly and Elliott Yoe, and maybe Dev Robinson around the ball can help this team, and (Jack) Graham and (Liam) Baker.”
Listen to the full discussion below:
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