Josh Kempton: West Coast’s season opener provides evidence for both the pessimists and the optimists

Whether you were disappointed or heartened by West Coast’s first game of their 2026 campaign probably depends on how you see the world. Pessimists would have bemoaned the gap between the bookmakers’ premiership favourites and last year’s wooden spooners being put on brutal display with a margin which stood at 68 points just over a minute into the second half. Aside from Milan Murdock showing he may have a future as an AFL footballer after years of dominating the WAFL, even the most optimistic Eagles fan would have struggled to see any upside in their showing to that point. But those inclined towards seeing the glass as half-full would have taken something out of a lift in effort in the third and fourth terms which stopped the result from getting seriously ugly. The Sherrin is as free as it has ever been thanks to another suite of new rules and changes in interpretations from the AFL, and that reality may leave the young Eagles particularly vulnerable as the competition’s more mature sides weaponise their running power. Starting the campaign with the longest away trip in the competition to play the Suns never shaped as a winnable task, but the manner of how the first half played out was hugely concerning. Time and time again, orange guernseys left blue and yellow ones in their wake and gave their forwards great opportunities against a defence which could not get set. Ultimately, the Suns just had too much quality. Murdock did some nice things in the high half-forward role, but he had just over two weeks as a full-time footballer to his credit. He was tasked with competing against a side stacked with both emerging and current stars. Was there anything to be taken out of an improved showing in the third and fourth terms? The importance of Elliot Yeo’s return after he missed the 2024 season due to an ankle injury was put on clear display as he set a tone for younger players to follow with his intensity. Most of the heavily one-sided results the Eagles have copped the brunt of in recent years have come from being smashed in the middle. Despite Yeo not being a constant in the on-ball brigade, his side were competitive in the clearance battle, which they lost 40-34. That came despite Matt Flynn being dominated in the ruck by Jarrod Witts, who won 51 hit-outs to his West Coast counterpart’s 18. Harley Reid’s improvement, the new dimension added by Tom McCarthy and Deven Robertson’s defensive steel will help greatly, but more will be needed from the biggest member of West Coast’s centre-bounce crew if they are to remain competitive. On The West Sport Show ahead of the new season, Andrew McQualter said his side wanted to win more games in 2026, but they would also use other metrics such as percentage to gauge their progress. The sentiment did not strike a chord with some Eagles fans, who are desperate to taste victory more frequently after doing so only 11 times in the last four seasons. Unfortunately, the way the game is heading combined with the reality of their list demographic may mean many of their wins will remain of the little variety, rather than those that net four premiership points.