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BIG WATCH OUT IN THE WEST
ASHLEY BROWNE
The most scrutinised and anticipated game this weekend will be late Sunday afternoon at Optus Stadium, where the beleaguered West Coast Eagles host St Kilda.
West Coast’s 171-point loss to Sydney last weekend was the equal fourth heaviest in League history and was the nadir for a club that has steadily spiralled downwards since winning the 2018 premiership.
The Eagles have won one game for the season and lost four of their past eight by more than 100 points.
Their percentage after 14 games is 47.35, nearly five points below that of Fitzroy in 1996 when the Lions were playing out their final season and were considered to be the least competitive team in League history.
The Eagles are the opposite of that.
They are the richest club in the AFL and virtually the best supported.
But they are paying the price for years of poor decision-making and, dare it be said, complacency.
Coach Adam Simpson is safe, but significant change is coming, most likely at the end of the season.
Nevertheless, the Eagles will head into Sunday mindful of these words from club chairman Paul Fitzpatrick in a letter to members last Sunday.
EDITOR’S LETTER MICHAEL LOVETT
u There is no better celebration in the game than the annual Australian Football Hall of Fame ceremony, which was held in Melbourne this week for the second successive year after the COVID-interrupted 2020-21.
The 2023 inductees covered a fascinating mix of recently retired stars, three greats from South Australia and a legend of the media and broadcasting industry.
Former Cats Jimmy Bartel and Corey Enright were walk-up inductees from a Geelong premiership dynasty, as was Sam Mitchell, a respected and feared opponent from Hawthorn.
The Cats and Hawks are fierce rivals and it’s fitting a trio at the coalface of those battles have been recognised.
SA fans will also be applauding the addition of a star from yesteryear in Ted Leahy, a giant of the game in every sense.
“We cannot tolerate performances of that nature and we expect a strong response against St Kilda …” revered figure at Port Adelaide at SANFL and AFL level.
Which is why the entire competition will be watching.
With the bye period over, it is back to nine games each weekend and the run to the finals is officially underway.
Only two of 12 teams so far have had wins coming off their bye, so supporters of Richmond, GWS Giants, the Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Carlton will be watching with trepidation this week.
Richmond heads to the Gabba on Thursday night to face the Lions, whose top four hopes were boosted by an important win over St Kilda at Marvel Stadium last Friday.
The Lions are unbeaten at home this year, while the Tigers started to find some form before the break.
He played for West Adelaide and North Adelaide, was a premiership player for both clubs, won a Magarey Medal, coached Norwood to two flags and played an incredible 31 state games for SA.
Mark Williams left his imprint as a player and coach in SA and Victoria and is a
Michael Aish was another SA star, a running machine idolised at Norwood who could hold his own against the best in the country at state level.
And last, but by no means least, came another highly respected South Australian in Bruce McAvaney, who joins a select group in the media section of the Hall of Fame.
They’ll miss injured midfielder Dion Prestia, one of the barometers of the team.
Port Adelaide would probably have been happy to keep playing after 11 straight wins.
Essendon at the MCG on Saturday night will be tricky to navigate, with the Bombers back in Victoria likely to be far more competitive than they were away to Fremantle last week.
And at some stage, you would think the Power will drop a game.
The Giants travel to Alice Springs for Melbourne’s annual game.
With back-to-back wins, including a 70-point hammering of Fremantle, before their bye, the Giants might also have liked to keep playing.
Bits and pieces of the ‘Orange Tsunami’ are starting to reappear, with a few added tweaks under new coach Adam Kingsley.
The Demons were blown away in the final term by Geelong last week and star midfielder Clayton Oliver, who hasn’t played since round 10, is still injured.
The Demons are a game and healthy percentage clear in the top four but have some work to do.
The Western Bulldogs meet the Dockers for the second time this year, this time at Marvel Stadium.
Their 49-point win over Fremantle in round six was clearly their best win of the year, but on that night the Dockers seemed most intent on roughing up ex-teammate Rory Lobb.
If they stick to the footy on Saturday afternoon, they can get the win that might put them back in the eight.
Blues fans spent their free weekend wondering whether the