“West Coast ended 2025 with the worst win loss record since Fitzroy in 1964” Surely the only way is up from here. Opportunity is what I think about at West Coast. There’s certainly spots up for grabs, with a mix of discount recruits and top end draft picks fighting it out for a game. Is this the year it all clicks for Harley ? Will the number one pick be worth the money ? let’s head out West and check what up at the Eagles.
The Lock
Deven Robertson (Fwd) $119.900
Drafted way back in 2019 Deven spent 6 years trying to cement a spot at Brisbane. A combination of some bad luck and the eventual recruiting of Josh Dunkley, made it pretty clear was too far down the pecking order to get a regular game. There was a chance Dev got to WC a year earlier, but they couldn’t get a deal done. Long story short Robertson is clearly desperate for senior footy. He looks to have a role in the Midfield, and we are able to pick as a Forward. His Preseason hit out produced 28 disposals for a SC score of 96. He looks pretty safe at F6.
The Dark Horse
Tom McCarthy (Def) $504.900
West Coast picked up Tom in the 2025 mid season draft, If you played last season, you saw what he did in the back half last year. A first class ball user, he’s already the most expensive player at WC. He looks to be promoted to a midfield position, but what does this ultimately do for his scoring ? In the Community series game, he was in the best few on ground for a honestly pretty awful West Coast side At $500K you are picking him as a “Keeper”. So ask yourself, can an unproven player from a struggling side compete with big boys of the backline like Nas, Sinclair, Ash and co ? It would take a brave man to go here, but it could work.
The Breakout
Harley Reid (Mid) $381.700
I’m trying really hard to be as unbiased as possible with this one. Harley is a star already, but is he a great SuperCoach pick in 2026 ? I think it maybe still a year too early. He really needs to clean up his free’s against count, and find a little more consistency. I think his scoring will improve, but as a mid priced Mid only, it’s hard to pick him over more established SC scorer’s like Hayden Young and Darcy Parish. Now watch Harley go bang in the opening few rounds and prove me wrong .
The Rookie’s
Willem Duursma (Mid) $203.500
Number one pick in last years draft, Will has obvious skills, but at over $200K for a wing role, he’s got me questioning if he’s worth the money. At 38% owned, he is still very popular, and I believe will make cash eventually. A preseason game score of just 51 tells me I may look elsewhere. The reality is I don’t really trust him on field, and he’s too expensive to be a bench rookie.
Josh Lyndsay (Def) $122.500
Josh looked great in the latest game. His 22 disposals and 5 score involvements, were unfortunately at only 64% efficiency, making for a score of 62. The 87% time on ground gives me some confidence he’s secure in his role. I’m very confident in picking Josh, but he’s most likely going on my defensive bench for now.
Please leave any questions in the comments section and I will endeavor to get back to you.
Thanks for reading FT.