2023 West Coast Eagles season

Australian rules football club season

West Coast Eagles2023 season

Coach| Adam Simpson
(10th season)
Captain(s)| Luke Shuey
(4th season)
Home ground| Optus Stadium
AFL season| Finished 18th (last)
Leading goalkicker| Oscar Allen
Highest home attendance| 47,940 vs. Carlton (round 7)
Lowest home attendance| 36,219 vs. Gold Coast (round 9)
| <- 2022 |

|

The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football team based in Perth, Western Australia. Their 2023 season was their 37th season in the Australian Football League (AFL), their tenth season with Adam Simpson as coach, and their fourth and final season with Luke Shuey as captain. They ended the season with 3 wins and 20 losses, a percentage of 53.0%, and placed 18th (last) to “win” the wooden spoon.

## Background

[edit]

Luke Shuey (captain) and Adam Simpson (coach)

The West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football team based in Perth, Western Australia, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). They ended the 2022 home-and-away season seventeenth, or second last, on the ladder, with only two wins and twenty losses, their worst result ever. They only narrowly avoided winning the wooden spoon because North Melbourne's percentage was worse.[1]

Prior to the start of the 2023 season, West Coast were widely expected to fare similarly to 2022. Out of a group of ten AFL.com.au journalists, all predicted that West Coast would finish the season 13th on the ladder or worse, with four predicting they would finish 16th. None of the journalists predicted that West Coast would finish last however.[2] Fox Sports used a Pythagorean expectation formula to predict that West Coast would finish the season 17th.[3] A group of Western Australia-based people from Nine Entertainment was more optimistic though, predicting West Coast would finish 12th, saying that they were unlucky with injuries in 2022, and that an influx of young players would help them be more competitive.[4]

Luke Shuey was voted in as captain for the fourth consecutive season. Jeremy McGovern remained a vice-captain and was joined by Tom Barrass, who replaced Nic Naitanui who declined to continue as part of the leadership group.[5][6] Adam Simpson remained as coach for his tenth season. The assistant coaches are Matthew Knights (midfield), Jarrad Schofield (strategy and stoppages), Daniel Pratt (backs) and Luke Webster (forwards). The development coaches are Jacob Brennan (development coordinator), Mark Nicoski (forwards) and Kyal Horsley (midfield).[7]

Jayden Hunt joined West Coast as an unrestricted free agent on the first day of the 2022 trade period. He had previously played 114 games for Melbourne.[8][9]

## Playing list

[edit]

### Changes

[edit]

Josh Kennedy retired at the end of the 2022 season, as was widely expected.[10][11] Jack Redden also retired at the end of the season, albeit unexpectedly.[12][13]

Removals from playing list  Player  | Reason  | Games  | Ref.

|
|
|

Josh Kennedy | Retired  | 293 (271 at West Coast)  | [10][11]
Jack Redden | Retired  | 263 (234 at West Coast)  | [12][13]
Additions to playing list  Player  | Acquired  | Former club  | Former league  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

Jayden Hunt | Unrestricted free agent | Melbourne | AFL | [8][9]

### Statistics

[edit]

Playing list and statistics (as of round 9)[14] Player  | No. | Games  | Goals | Behinds | Kicks | Handballs | Disposals | Marks | Tackles | Notes/Milestone(s)

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Liam Ryan | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 30 | 9 | 39 | 15 | 11 |
Jake Waterman | 2 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 78 | 35 | 113 | 46 | 18 |
Andrew Gaff | 3 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 94 | 101 | 195 | 32 | 31 |
Dom Sheed | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 54 | 69 | 123 | 20 | 16 |
Jayden Hunt | 5 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 116 | 52 | 168 | 43 | 22 |
Elliot Yeo | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 24 | 5 | 3 |
Reuben Ginbey | 7 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 80 | 125 | 11 | 70 |
Elijah Hewett | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 5 | 1 |
Sam Petrevski-Seton | 10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 28 | 76 | 21 | 18 |
Tim Kelly | 11 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 110 | 151 | 261 | 31 | 47 |
Oscar Allen | 12 | 9 | 24 | 11 | 71 | 28 | 99 | 50 | 16 |
Luke Shuey | 13 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 36 | 73 | 7 | 17 |
Liam Duggan | 14 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 137 | 57 | 194 | 61 | 27 |
Jamie Cripps | 15 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 12 | 5 |
Luke Edwards | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 41 | 79 | 16 | 20 |
Campbell Chesser | 18 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 8 | 7 |
Brady Hough | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 6 | 7 |
Jeremy McGovern | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 17 | 53 | 22 | 1 |
Jack Petruccelle | 21 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 26 | 59 | 8 | 18 |
Alex Witherden | 23 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 96 | 47 | 143 | 31 | 17 |
Xavier O'Neill | 24 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 31 | 29 | 60 | 10 | 24 |
Shannon Hurn | 25 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 37 | 126 | 23 | 11 |
Zane Trew | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 1 | 5 |
Jack Darling | 27 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 54 | 30 | 84 | 34 | 21 |
Tom Cole | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 32 | 64 | 19 | 10 |
Luke Foley | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 22 | 50 | 13 | 6 |
Jamaine Jones | 31 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 104 | 69 | 173 | 31 | 22 |
Bailey Williams | 32 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 64 | 113 | 10 | 28 |
Rhett Bazzo | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
Josh Rotham | 35 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 9 | 50 | 24 | 7 |
Connor West | 36 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 39 | 68 | 12 | 12 |
Tom Barrass | 37 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 42 | 116 | 57 | 4 |
Greg Clark | 39 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 52 | 90 | 19 | 18 |
Callum Jamieson | 40 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
Harry Edwards | 42 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
Noah Long | 44 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 36 | 59 | 10 | 13 |
Jai Culley | 49 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 8 | 15 |

## Season summary

[edit]

In the 2023 AFL season, each team played 23 games and had a mid-season bye. West Coast played North Melbourne, Fremantle, Carlton, Richmond, Essendon, and Adelaide twice, and all the other teams once. Only one game was played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the venue of the grand final, against Richmond. There were three games at Adelaide Oval as a result of the Gather Round, where West Coast played Geelong in Adelaide. Other venues included four games at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne, one game at The Gabba in Brisbane, one game at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and one game against Hawthorn at University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston, Tasmania.

### Results

[edit]

Regular season results[15] Round  | Day  | Date  | Result  | Score  | Opponent  | Score  | Ground  | Attendance  | Ladder | Margin  | Ref.

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G | B | T | G | B | T
1 | Saturday  | 18 March | Lost  | 12  | 10  | 82  | North Melbourne | 12  | 15  | 87  | Marvel Stadium | A | 21,274  | 11th  | -5  | [16]
2 | Sunday  | 26 March | Won  | 14  | 16  | 100  | Greater Western Sydney | 11  | 15  | 81  | Optus Stadium | H | 44,649  | 9th  | +19  | [17]
3 | Sunday  | 2 April | Lost  | 9  | 13  | 67  | Fremantle | 16  | 12  | 108  | Optus Stadium | A | 56,090  | 12th  | -41  | [18]
4 | Sunday  | 9 April | Lost  | 9  | 9  | 63  | Melbourne | 19  | 12  | 126  | Optus Stadium | H | 42,458  | 16th  | -63  | [19]
5 | Sunday  | 16 April | Lost  | 13  | 11  | 89  | Geelong | 21  | 10  | 136  | Adelaide Oval | N | 30,120  | 17th  | -47  | [20]
6 | Saturday  | 22 April | Lost  | 10  | 9  | 69  | Port Adelaide | 16  | 13  | 109  | Adelaide Oval | A | 31,638  | 17th  | -40  | [21]
7 | Sunday  | 29 April | Lost  | 6  | 8  | 44  | Carlton | 23  | 14  | 152  | Optus Stadium | H | 47,940  | 18th  | -108  | [22]
8 | Saturday  | 6 May | Lost  | 8  | 10  | 58  | Richmond | 15  | 14  | 104  | Melbourne Cricket Ground | A | 28,293  | 17th  | -46  | [23]
9 | Friday  | 12 May | Lost  | 6  | 7  | 43  | Gold Coast | 16  | 17  | 113  | Optus Stadium | H | 36,219  | 18th  | -70  | [24]
10 | Sunday  | 21 May | Lost  | 4  | 2  | 26  | Hawthorn | 22  | 10  | 142  | University of Tasmania Stadium | A |  | 18th  | -116  | [citation needed]
11 | Saturday  | 27 May | Lost  | 6  | 10  | 46  | Essendon | 14  | 12  | 96  | Optus Stadium | H |  | 18th  | -50  | [citation needed]
12 | Saturday  | 3 June | Lost  | 8  | 9  | 57  | Collingwood | 18  | 12  | 120  | Optus Stadium | H |  | 18th  | -63  | [citation needed]
13 | Saturday  | 10 June | Lost  | 8  | 4  | 52  | Adelaide | 27  | 12  | 174  | Adelaide Oval | A |  | 18th  | -122
14 |  |  |  |  |  |  | Bye |  |  |  |  |  |
15 | Saturday  | 24 June | Lost  | 5  | 4  | 34  | Sydney | 31  | 19  | 205  | Sydney Cricket Ground | A |  | 18th  | -171  | [citation needed]
16 | Sunday  | 2 July | Lost  | 12  | 5  | 77  | St Kilda | 12  | 13  | 85  | Optus Stadium | H |  | 18th  | -8  |
17 | Saturday  | 8 July | Lost  | 5  | 5  | 35  | Brisbane Lions | 16  | 20  | 116  | The Gabba | A |  | 18th  | -81
18 | Sunday  | 16 July | Lost  | 8  | 12  | 60  | Richmond | 14  | 14  | 98  | Optus Stadium | H |  | 18th  | -38
19 | Saturday  | 22 July | Lost  | 10  | 9  | 69  | Carlton | 21  | 14  | 140  | Marvel Stadium | A |  | 18th  | -71
20 | Sunday  | 30 July | Won  | 10  | 12  | 72  | North Melbourne | 10  | 7  | 67  | Optus Stadium | H |  | 18th  | +5
21 | Saturday  | 5 August | Lost  | 11  | 6  | 72  | Essendon | 10  | 13  | 73  | Marvel Stadium | A |  | 18th  | -1
22 | Saturday  | 12 August | Lost  | 4  | 9  | 33  | Fremantle | 20  | 14  | 134  | Optus Stadium | H |  | 18th  | -101
23 | Sunday  | 20 August | Won  | 14  | 8  | 92  | Western Bulldogs | 12  | 13  | 85  | Marvel Stadium | A |  | 17th  | +7
24 | Saturday  | 26 August | Lost  | 12  | 6  | 78  | Adelaide | 17  | 21  | 123  | Optus Stadium | H |  | 18th  | -45
Key  H | Home game

|

A | Away game
N | Neutral game

### Ladder

[edit]

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification

|
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|

1  | Collingwood (P) | 23  | 18  | 5  | 0  | 2142  | 1687  | 127.0  | 72  | Finals series
2  | Brisbane Lions | 23  | 17  | 6  | 0  | 2180  | 1771  | 123.1  | 68
3  | Port Adelaide | 23  | 17  | 6  | 0  | 2149  | 1906  | 112.7  | 68
4  | Melbourne | 23  | 16  | 7  | 0  | 2079  | 1660  | 125.2  | 64
5  | Carlton | 23  | 13  | 9  | 1  | 1922  | 1697  | 113.3  | 54
6  | St Kilda | 23  | 13  | 10  | 0  | 1775  | 1647  | 107.8  | 52
7  | Greater Western Sydney | 23  | 13  | 10  | 0  | 2018  | 1885  | 107.1  | 52
8  | Sydney | 23  | 12  | 10  | 1  | 2050  | 1863  | 110.0  | 50
9  | Western Bulldogs | 23  | 12  | 11  | 0  | 1919  | 1766  | 108.7  | 48  |
10  | Adelaide | 23  | 11  | 12  | 0  | 2193  | 1877  | 116.8  | 44
11  | Essendon | 23  | 11  | 12  | 0  | 1838  | 2050  | 89.7  | 44
12  | Geelong | 23  | 10  | 12  | 1  | 2088  | 1855  | 112.6  | 42
13  | Richmond | 23  | 10  | 12  | 1  | 1856  | 1983  | 93.6  | 42
14  | Fremantle | 23  | 10  | 13  | 0  | 1835  | 1898  | 96.7  | 40
15  | Gold Coast | 23  | 9  | 14  | 0  | 1839  | 2006  | 91.7  | 36
16  | Hawthorn | 23  | 7  | 16  | 0  | 1686  | 2101  | 80.2  | 28
17  | North Melbourne | 23  | 3  | 20  | 0  | 1657  | 2318  | 71.5  | 12
18  | West Coast | 23  | 3  | 20  | 0  | 1418  | 2674  | 53.0  | 12

Source: afl.com.au
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for
(P) Premiers

## WAFL team

[edit]

Robert Wiley was West Coast's WAFL coach.[7]

## Awards

[edit]

Reuben Ginbey was nominated for the Rising Star award in round three, making him the first Rising Star nomination from West Coast since Oscar Allen in round 21, 2019.[25][26] Jai Culley was nominated for the Rising Star award in round six.[27][28]

Awards received by West Coast players  Award  | Awarded by  | Player  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

Rising Star | Australian Football League | Reuben Ginbey (round 3)  | Nominated  | [25][26]
Jai Culley (round 6)  | Nominated  | [27][28]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Mottram, Seb (23 August 2022). "West Coast's season review: highlight, lowlight, off-season needs and overall grade". SEN. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
2. ^ "Crystal Ball: Our predictions for the 2023 AFL season are in". AFL.com.au. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
3. ^ Laughton, Max (7 February 2023). "Moneyball theory reveals which AFL teams will rise and fall in the 2023 season". Fox Sports. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
4. ^ Sweeney, Paddy (13 March 2023). "AFL predictions: Freo in the top four and West Coast looking at a long season". WAtoday. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
5. ^ Woodcock, Mitchell (31 January 2023). "Luke Shuey to return as West Coast Eagles captain for fourth successive season". PerthNow. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
6. ^ Schmook, Nathan (31 January 2023). "Gun ruckman steps aside as Shuey takes reins at Eagles again". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
7. ^ a b "Coaches (AFL)". West Coast Eagles. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
8. ^ a b Rogers, Samantha (3 October 2022). "AFL Trades 2022: West Coast swoop on speedy Melbourne free agent Jayden Hunt". PerthNow. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
9. ^ a b Gabelich, Josh (3 October 2022). "Go west: Demon joins Eagles as unrestricted free agent". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
10. ^ a b McNeill, Heather; Pierik, Jon (2 August 2022). "West Coast legend Josh Kennedy to retire at the weekend". The Age. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
11. ^ a b Schmook, Nathan (2 August 2022). "Running on empty: Knee injury forces Eagles champion into retirement". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
12. ^ a b Quartermaine, Braden (30 September 2022). "West Coast Eagles veteran Jack Redden announces retirement". The West Australian. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
13. ^ a b Schmook, Nathan (30 September 2022). "Shock retirement: Premiership Eagle calls time after 14 seasons". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
14. ^ "2023 Player Stats". AFL Tables. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
15. ^ "2023 Season Scores and Results". AFL Tables. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
16. ^ Welsh, Sophie (18 March 2023). "Roos hold off late Eagles surge to start Clarko era in style". AFL.com.au. Australian Associated Press. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
17. ^ Schmook, Nathan (26 March 2023). "Best in the west? Eagles down Giants ahead of Western Derby". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
18. ^ Schmook, Nathan (2 April 2023). "Demolition Derby: Dockers, injuries too much for decimated Eagles". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
19. ^ Schmook, Nathan (9 April 2023). "Clinical Demons get job done against depleted Eagles". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
20. ^ Schmook, Nathan (16 April 2023). "Classy Cats in cruise control to overcome depleted Eagles". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
21. ^ Welsh, Sophie (22 April 2023). "Eagles overpowered as Port puts on a clinic". AFL.com.au. Australian Associated Press. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
22. ^ Schmook, Nathan (30 April 2023). "Blues cruise: King Charles bags nine as Carlton crushes Eagles". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
23. ^ Kalinic, Dejan (7 May 2023). "Tiger charge sets up much-needed win over Eagles". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
24. ^ Schmook, Nathan (12 May 2023). "Red-hot Suns coast past depleted Eagles". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
25. ^ a b Woodcock, Mitchell (3 April 2023). "West Coast Eagles teenager Reuben Ginbey named round three rising star nominee after western derby outing". The West Australian. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
26. ^ a b Bourke, Ed (3 April 2023). "West Coast midfielder Reuben Ginbey earns Rising Star nomination". News.com.au. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
27. ^ a b Woodcock, Mitchell (26 April 2023). "Jai Culley earns Rising Star nomination for second West Coast Eagles nod this month". PerthNow. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
28. ^ a b "Jai time: Eagle earns Rising Star nomination after four-goal haul". AFL.com.au. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.

* v
* t
* e

West Coast Eagles

* Nickname: Eagles

* History
* Records
* Players
* Current squad
* Captains
* Coaches
* Individual awards
* John Worsfold Medal
* Leading goalkickers

* AFL Captain: Luke Shuey
* AFL Coach: Adam Simpson

* AFLW Captain: Emma Swanson
* AFLW Coach: Michael Prior

AFL home grounds|

* Subiaco Oval (1987–2017)
* WACA (1987–2000)
* Perth Stadium (2018–)

AFL premierships (4)|

* 1992
* 1994
* 2006
* 2018

VFL/AFL seasons (35)|

* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

AFLW home grounds|

* Lathlain Park (2020–)

AFLW Seasons (5)|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022 (S6)
* 2022 (S7)
* 2023

Related articles|

* Draft history
* Western Derby
* Sydney rivalry

* v
* t
* e

2023 AFL season

Events|

* Pre-season matches
* Premiership season
* Finals series
* Grand Final

Awards|

* 22under22 team
* AFL Players Association awards
* All-Australian team
* Brownlow Medal
* Coleman Medal
* Goal of the Year
* Leigh Matthews Trophy
* Mark of the Year
* Norm Smith Medal
* Rising Star

Club overviews|

* Adelaide
* Brisbane Lions
* Carlton
* Collingwood
* Essendon
* Fremantle
* Geelong
* Gold Coast
* Greater Western Sydney
* Hawthorn
* Melbourne
* North Melbourne
* Port Adelaide
* Richmond
* St Kilda
* Sydney
* West Coast
* Western Bulldogs

Player changes|

* Trades
* National draft
* Mid-season draft
* Rookie draft
* Debuts
* Retirements and delistings

See also|

* Gather Round
* 2023 AFL Women's season
* 2023 in Australian rules football

*[Ref.]: Reference(s)
*[No.]: Guernsey number
*[Ladder]: Ladder position
*[G]: Goals
*[B]: Behinds
*[T]: Total score
*[Pos]: Position
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[L]: Lost
*[D]: Drawn
*[PF]: Points for
*[PA]: Points against
*[PP]: Point percentage
*[Pts]: Points