Paul Hasleby: How Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) have found their mojo under new coach Andrew McQualter

Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) fans might be finally seeing the light at the end of the darkest of tunnels. After two months of pain, the Eagles’ brand under first-year coach Andrew McQualter is starting to emerge. The man known as “Mini” has a mountain of a task to rebuild this powerful club but if the past fortnight is any indication on field things are looking up. Their two-point defeat to Richmond at the MCG could’ve gone either way. They were a Tom Gross kick away from a victory. And their performance against Euro-Yroke (St Kilda) in difficult and emotional circumstances last weekend was a good step forward. McQualter’s brand is beginning to become natural for the Eagles, who were always going to take time to readjust after more than a decade under Adam Simpson. And unsurprisingly, a lot of what McQualter is trying to implement is reminiscent of what made Richmond nearly unbeatable when they won three flags in four years from 2017 to 2020. McQualter was a Damien Hardwick disciple as an assistant coach and was instrumental in their success as the midfield coach under the now Gold Coast leader. The plan is simple – get the ball forward at all costs, take as much territory as possible and apply a lot of pressure if they turn it over. From 2017 to 2020, Richmond were the No.1 team in the AFL for kicking long down the line, handball metres gained and kicking long. The Eagles have replicated this with promising success, rated fourth for kicking down the line percentage, third for handball metres gained and second for kicking long. A lot of this is based on a drastic improvement in the past two weeks in several key areas. For the first six weeks they were ranked last in the AFL in points for and points from clearance. Against Richmond and St Kilda they turned this trend around, ranked fourth and third respectively. Across the last two weeks the Eagles are ranked first for pressure factor and forward half pressure factor as well as fifth for forward half intercepts. Clearances were easily their biggest issue for much of the first part of the season and while they haven’t clearly rectified this, they’re beginning to find a way to hit the scoreboard from them. They were ranked last for clearance to score percentage across the first six games, but have improved to third across the Tigers and Saints games. This may sound like a lot of numbers, but broken down it shows that the Eagles are starting to find their mojo under McQualter. The first year coach has been strong in what he has wanted from his players and has not been afraid to make the big calls and try players in new positions. Tim Kelly has gone from the No.1 midfielder in the side to a half-forward who can now go back into the middle late like he did against the Saints and have a monumental impact. Forwards Liam Ryan and Tyler Brockman run through the centre bounces now and add a different dimension alongside Harley Reid and Jack Graham. Liam Duggan and Liam Baker were flagged role as midfielders for much of the pre-season but both have returned to defence with good effect. And then there are the major positional switches. Ryan Maric is improving every week as a defender after being drafted as a lead-up forward. Jack Hutchinson adds a necessary defensive aspect to their midfield and has spent the past few weeks on a wing. While co-captain Oscar Allen is flexible as either a defender or a forward, depending on what the side needs. Impressively all of this comes with Elliot Yeo yet to play a game at all this season and five-time All-Australian and reigning club champion Jeremy McGovern has only played six games because of injury and his future is in doubt because of a concussion. They have found a player in draftee Tom Gross and Elijah Hewett is emerging as a genuine match-winner after his comeback from a year out of the game with a serious foot injury. A lot of this will be put to the test against a strong Adelaide side who have won five of their six games at the Adelaide Oval this season. For the Eagles, the Adelaide Oval has not been a happy hunting ground having lost their past seven games there by an average of 78 points. And the Crows have won the past two clashes between the two sides at the venue by 99 and 122 points respectively. Today we will find out just how far the Eagles have come, a competitive performance would mean that the Eagles have passed rock bottom, however another blowout would mean back to the drawing board.