West Coast Eagles

The West Coast Eagles just don't want to say die.  Last year they finished bottom of the ladder with only four wins.  If you were being fair to them you'd say they had some bad luck, some key injuries and, being totally honest, they were a little bit shit.  So after a disastrous 2010, where would the Eagles finish in 2011? If you were to run a ladder prediction game giving away, say, 52 slabs of beer, you'd probably find that most people said the Eagles wouldn't do much in 2011.  But they were wrong.  Oh so very wrong.

So what is it that has turned around the Eagle's fortunes so dramatically?  Is it the fact that they picked up some preferential draft picks for hanging out in the league's cellar?  I can confidently say not, because Uncle Andrew is over priority draft picks and now you have to wait until after the first round of the draft to use them.  Also, by giving generously to Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, Uncle Andrew made sure there wasn't a lot on offer for anyone else anyway.  

So what was it that got West Coast from the bottom of the ladder to knocking on a top four berth in only a few short rounds?  Well you could ask Aka and no doubt he'd put it down to hard work, a disciplined coaching staff, enjoyment of the game and a huge amount of steroids.  And Aka will name names.  Apparently one of their guys once played better than Aka, so there's proof enough there.  Also, I heard Caroline Wilson once say something very sensible about the fact that Ben Cousins used crystal meth so therefore the team are all drug cheats.  Caro and Aka should have a baby.

But I like to think it's something deeper.  You see the Eagles know that Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney are about to enter the league and will most likely be unloved by footy fans for a good few years.  In fact, they will be so unloved they risk turning all footy lovers off franchised footy teams altogether – except, of course, the successful ones. Port Adelaide is playing the sort of footy that makes you wonder why they turn up, while the Crows and Lions are desperately trying to work out what happened to all those fans they had when they were winning premierships.  And while Sydney and Fremantle start off every year promising a lot, it looks as though it will be a long time before either of them deliver. West Coast, quite bravely and selflessly, have taken it upon themselves to show the world that football can survive outside of Victoria.  All you need is lots and lots of drugs.