{"id":62181,"date":"2024-04-04T05:51:12","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T19:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/?p=62181"},"modified":"2024-04-04T05:52:03","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T19:52:03","slug":"no-west-coast-you-shouldnt-get-a-priority-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/2024\/04\/no-west-coast-you-shouldnt-get-a-priority-pick\/","title":{"rendered":"No West Coast, you shouldn&#8217;t get a priority pick."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>West Coast has historically been a powerhouse club. This is the worst that they have ever been, and likely will ever be.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">West Coast have played 811 games since inception 1987. 9 of their 20 heaviest losses have come in last 65 games. Of their 15 losses by 100 pts  or more, 7 have come since 2022. 8 of their biggest losses against each club have also come since 2022. They are bad on historic levels.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Andrew Wu (@wutube) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wutube\/status\/1774964549973926297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 2, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Watching them over the past few years has been equal parts funny and sad, like watching Uncle Junior gradually lose it over the last few seasons of The Sopranos.<\/p>\n<p>However, after losing by 76 points to a team that was being autopsied after round 1, it\u2019s starting to get to the point where every game is like watching the final conversation between Uncle Junior and Tony.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tony has a final chat with Uncle Junior - The Sopranos HD\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VYaAMXWbD14?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To illustrate just how bad they are, per Dan Cherny that 76-point loss is not one of the 10 heaviest defeats they have suffered since 2022.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Eagles lose by 76 points, which isn\u2019t even their 10 heaviest defeats since the start of 2022. Historically horrible.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Daniel Cherny (@DanielCherny) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DanielCherny\/status\/1774293654565491039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 31, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Bad doesn\u2019t even begin to cover it.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re just making Tommy Wiseau\u2019s The Room every week, except every time it somehow gets worse.<\/p>\n<p>Given how historically awful they are, it\u2019s worth asking whether it\u2019s time to give them a priority pick.<\/p>\n<p>There have been a few rule changes to the priority pick system in recent years. The current \u201csystem\u201d, where the AFL just gets to decide of its own volition with a nebulous formula that is impossible to follow and has not been publicised, has been in place since 2006. This is also known as the holding the ball approach to priority picks, where not much is known about how it\u2019s awarded, just that it occasionally is.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2006 only Brisbane in 2016, Gold Coast in 2019, and North Melbourne in 2023 have received priority picks and other general draft concessions.<\/p>\n<p>The Lions got one second round pick after they experienced a mass exodus of talent over the preceding three years and were one of the worst non-expansion teams in recent memory (non North\/West Coast edition). They were awarded the pick after hiring Chris Fagan.<\/p>\n<p>Gold Coast got the most generous package. receiving pick #1 to give them the top 2 picks in the 2019 draft and pick 20 in 2019. Additionally, Gold Coast got a mid-first round pick in 2020 as well as pre-draft picks and the first pick of the second round in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Gold Coast\u2019s package came after an entire history of futility that makes the Haas Formula 1 team look like a juggernaut. Like Brisbane, they had also just made a change at coach hiring Stuart Dew after the Rodney Eade experience went belly-up.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, we have North Melbourne who got pick 19 in 2023, as well as two extra picks in 2024 which are to be taken at the end of the first round after failing to finish better than second bottom in the four seasons prior to receiving the picks.<\/p>\n<p>Like those other teams, just prior to getting their priority picks, North also appointed a new coach prior to receiving their shiny new picks \u2013 Alastair Clarkson. Ever heard of him?<\/p>\n<p>West Coast\u2019s futility is most comparable to Gold Coast and North Melbourne on the field, but what about off it?<\/p>\n<p>Here are where the issues lie.<\/p>\n<p>Giving West Coast priority picks is like Obama bailing out the banks in the GFC. It\u2019s like renewing Crown\u2019s gambling license. It\u2019s like rich people getting free stuff.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re propping up the house.<\/p>\n<p>In the AFL\u2019s 2023 funding ladder, a pretty good indicator of who the financial power clubs are and aren\u2019t, Gold Coast was tied for the most funding while North Melbourne and Brisbane were tied for the second most.<\/p>\n<p>West Coast were equal bottom.<\/p>\n<p>This club is based in one of the wealthiest states on earth, and propped up by the country\u2019s strongest economy.<\/p>\n<p>In the history of priority picks, even apart from the system changes, the wealthiest clubs to ever receive high-end priority picks are Carlton and Collingwood in 2005 who received picks 1 and 2 respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Those clubs had mafia money backing them up.<\/p>\n<p>West Coast has mining money.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s The Godfather 1 where Don Vito is talking to the heads of the 5 families,<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Godfather (1972) - The Meeting of the Five Families\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DF30eGXDIVU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>versus The Godfather 2 where Michael Corleone is talking with captains of industry and government delegates.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Godfather Partners\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IEI3mN5Wee4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re operating in a different world here.<\/p>\n<p>Getting past my inherent lack of desire to not make football echo what happens in the real world, where the already advantaged get handed even more advantages, has West Coast even tried to get better?<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, West Coast cracked the sads because they were treated like everyone else and had to go into the hub, and they have been awful since.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;They&#39;re beaten before they go out on the ground.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>The Sunday Footy Show panel react to West Coast&#39;s woes in the hub, and how Adam Simpson&#39;s comments could be setting the team up for failure.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/9AFLSFS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#9AFLSFS<\/a> | Watch <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Channel9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@channel9<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tbToJujgxy\">pic.twitter.com\/tbToJujgxy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FootyonNine\/status\/1274498201165484033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 21, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Since 2021, their ladder positions have gone 9th, 17th, 18th and this season they are 18th again through three games with a percentage of 42.8.<\/p>\n<p>Only this season have they finally started to play some kids, instead of trotting an uninterested Andrew Gaff out every week like it\u2019s 2019 (whom they did trot out in round 1 for 4 disposals).<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In an encouraging spell in the WAFL, Andrew Gaff has set a precedent for West Coast players who get the chop as selection pressure finally mounts at the struggling club, writes Jackson Barrett. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/RaQlF3fh7z\">https:\/\/t.co\/RaQlF3fh7z<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The West Sport (@TheWestSport) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheWestSport\/status\/1774364513996820591?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 31, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Despite a downward slide that started largely when their head coach started bitching to a sport league about a pandemic, they have made no changes at the top.<\/p>\n<p>How does Adam Simpson have a job at this point?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe scoreboard speaks for itself. Our inability to put it on the scoreboard, we\u2019ve got a lot of work to do. There are things we\u2019re chasing, but we\u2019ve got to be better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adam Simpson <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/t4fg2ZjIQV\">pic.twitter.com\/t4fg2ZjIQV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Waalitj Marawar (@WestCoastEagles) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WestCoastEagles\/status\/1774300130860278015?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 31, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>He seems like a nice fella but he\u2019s the Michael Jordan of doing nothing to keep his job and keeping it anyway. He didn\u2019t even seem that interested in coaching at the end of last year but the Board \u201cunanimously agreed\u201d to keep him on.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Adam Simpson has called for clarity on his future at the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WestCoastEagles?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WestCoastEagles<\/a> &#8211; the embattled coach asking for reassurance from the board with two years left to run on his contract | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ashnelson08?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ashnelson08<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/AFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#AFL<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FMCgrGHkw2\">pic.twitter.com\/FMCgrGHkw2<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; 10 News First Perth (@10NewsFirstPER) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/10NewsFirstPER\/status\/1692474135396466869?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 18, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n<p>I guess after a season where you lose 5 games by more than 100 points, one by 171, you have to hold onto the coach.<\/p>\n<p>Did they keep him because of money? If so, pardon my French but cry me a fucking river. The soft cap implications won\u2019t be relevant when you\u2019re finally good under a new coach in 5 years.<\/p>\n<p>This is not a 2-year turnaround.<\/p>\n<p>As I have already pointed out, every other club that got a priority pick made the obvious decision to try a new voice at the top.<\/p>\n<p>It smacks of ego above all else, and is endemic of the kind of idle rich, \u201ceverything will work out for us because we\u2019re West Coast\u201d that seems to pervade that club.<\/p>\n<p>While they\u2019ve been bad, they haven\u2019t done enough to show any interest in actually winning football games to get a priority pick.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><strong>Like what you read from our hard-hitting columnist?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><strong>Follow\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/guywholikesspo1\">@Guywholikessport<\/a>\u00a0on Twitter or check out his\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/guywholikessport.wixsite.com\/guywholikessport\">FULL BLOG HERE\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":62182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8298,344],"tags":[8889,29,8614,8260,3094,982,612],"hub_post_cat":[],"class_list":["post-62181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australian-rules","category-guywholikessport","category-sports","tag-adam-simpson","tag-afl","tag-afl-2024","tag-guywholikessport","tag-opinion","tag-west-coast","tag-west-coast-eagles"],"acf":{"md_tip_date":null,"md_tip_date_end":null,"md_market_url":"","tip_date":"04\/04\/2024","event_country":"Australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62181"},{"taxonomy":"hub_post_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub_post_cat?post=62181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}