{"id":181050,"date":"2025-09-30T22:28:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T22:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/181050\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T22:28:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T22:28:17","slug":"west-coast-eagles-draft-assistance-afl-confirms-package-that-includes-end-of-first-round-draft-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/181050\/","title":{"rendered":"West Coast Eagles draft assistance: AFL confirms package that includes end-of-first-round draft selection"},"content":{"rendered":"

West Coast has taken responsibility for its own plight in recent seasons after the battling club\u2019s application for help from the league was approved.<\/p>\n

The AFL confirmed the package on Tuesday, with the Eagles to receive an end-of-first-round selection \u2014 currently pick 19 \u2014 as well as four additional rookie list spots per year over the next three seasons.<\/p>\n

Eagles chief executive Don Pyke says their successful submission highlighted \u201cthe compromised nature of recent drafts\u201d and it has now been equipped with a strong hand to begin its climb back up the ladder.<\/p>\n

The league can review or alter the support in 2027 or 28 if the Eagles climb rapidly up the table.<\/p>\n

The Eagles now have pick 1 at November\u2019s draft and are set to be handed pick 2 for departing captain Oscar Allen, as well as owning picks 15 (tied to Hawthorn), 19, 20, 33 and 51. Selections 15 onwards are expected to slide back after other clubs\u2019 academy and father-son selections.<\/p>\n

Pyke said reaching out to the AFL for help was \u201cnot a decision we took lightly\u201d and the club owned previous trading decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe club accepts and takes responsibility for previous decisions which contributed to our current situation of four successive years of bottom-three finishes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been comprehensive changes at senior levels of our club and football department recently, including the appointments of our senior coach Andrew McQualter and head of football John Worsfold.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur submission highlighted factors \u2014 such as the compromised nature of recent national drafts \u2014 that have increased the challenge of rebuilding our playing list, while also considering the broader implications for the competition of sustained poor on-field performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cEqualisation is a core pillar of the AFL and, as such, we believed our club qualified for assistance, which we are committed to using responsibly in alignment with our clear list management strategy to take us forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also continue to invest significantly in our football department, above the soft cap, and are building a strong development culture to improve our current situation as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

AFL executive general manager of football performance Greg Swann said the special assistance package was aimed at supporting the West Coast Eagles return to being competitive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important that we have a competitively balanced competition and that fans can feel that on any day, in any game, their team can win,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Eagles have won only nine games in the past three seasons and finished in the bottom three of the ladder in the past four seasons. \u201cWe have been working with the club on how assistance can improve their on-field performance to return to being competitive.<\/p>\n

\"TheCamera IconThe AFL\u2019s executive manager of football performance Greg Swann. Credit: AAP<\/p>\n

The additional rookie spots will be funded by the club.<\/p>\n

West Coast has four players in the mix through its own academy, Wes Walley, Koby Evans, father-son prospect Charlie Banfield and Tylah Williams.<\/p>\n

A league release said the AFL could review the assistance \u201cshould there be a material change to the circumstances under which they were provided\u201d.<\/p>\n

The extra end-of-first-round selection might be the key to secure Brisbane defender Brandon Starcevich.<\/p>\n

West Coast is also expected to land compensation picks further down the chain for Campbell Chesser and Liam Ryan who have indicated they want to join Carlton and St Kilda.<\/p>\n

The Eagles have reportedly offered Starcevich a six-year deal worth $900,000 a season. The AFL requires clubs to seek approval from their club president and chief executive for player contracts lasting six years or longer.<\/p>\n

\"EaglesCamera IconEagles CEO Don Pyke. Credit: Iain Gillespie\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

The Eagles have finished in the bottom three in each of the past four seasons, including two wooden spoons, in 2023 and this year.<\/p>\n

North Melbourne was handed similar assistance at the end of 2023 when the Roos were given an extra end-of-first round pick that year and two end-of-first round picks for the following season as well as extra rookie list positions.<\/p>\n

The picks for the next year came with the condition the AFL could review them in 12 months, meaning the Roos traded them that year as future picks.<\/p>\n

North Melbourne had won 12 of its previous 84 games when it received its concession package, with West Coast\u2019s record worse, winning only 11 games in the past four seasons.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Eagles decision to slide from pick three to 12 in last year\u2019s draft angered fans at a time when they had only two listed top-10 players, Harley Reid and Reuben Ginbey.<\/p>\n

The Eagles traded out pick three to Carlton in a deal that also involved Richmond, receiving Tigers vice-captain Baker and Blues small forward Matt Owies, and picks No.12 and 73 in return, while also giving up No. 63 and 68.<\/p>\n

In 2021, the Eagles parted with two first-round picks (14 and a future first) and selections No.24 and No.33 to secure Tim Kelly from Geelong as well as picks 52 and a 2020 third round selection in a deal former CEO Trevor Nisbett said had not worked.<\/p>\n

There was also discontent from fans over long-term deals to several players after the Eagles won the 2018 premiership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"West Coast has taken responsibility for its own plight in recent seasons after the battling club\u2019s application for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,588,85,7067],"class_list":{"0":"post-181050","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-sport","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-west-coast-eagles"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}