News Media Thread, 2024: Insightful, Inciteful and Incomptent

We need backstreets back from a bull.
Gov or tommy seem lile they could.
I never remember to listen and take notes.
Only spotted jakes because he kicked so many when i went to the game.
 
MeltMan said:
Or just "want you back" 😆
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Jackson 5 Stand GIF by The Ed Sullivan Show
 





Couple of nice articles from Duffield on a couple of unheralded players

Both are in that mid 20’s age group we’re light on in and we needed some of to take their game up a level for us to improve

Waterman has been one who’s made a jump. Williams is on his way, as is Petruccelle to an extent. Flynn we haven’t seen yet

Rotham, along with Witherden, looked firmly on the delist pile to start this year since they’re both out of contract. Courtesy of Jamieson’s injury, Rotham got an opportunity in the 22 and has been a decent contributor without being a standout

He still needs a lot to go right to get a new contract but if he can maintain, or better still build on, his recent form then maybe he will

Full articles below

Josh Rotham made his AFL debut for West Coast as a 21-year old in round three 2019 against Collingwood at the MCG in front of 60,800 people.
It remains the biggest crowd he has played in front of. But that might not be true forever. And over the past two years it looked like it might be.

One of the best feel good stories so far this season at West Coast - and there have been a few in the past fortnight - is that Rotham, at 26, has re-emerged as a well performed member of the Eagles defence.

It is a far cry from the past two years when the 13 games he played each season were a struggle - both for himself personally and for the team. He would probably have played far fewer had the Eagles not been decimated by injury.

Rotham, who played his 62nd AFL game in the 37-point derby win over Fremantle, returned to the Eagles senior team for the round four clash with Sydney in Gather Round and his good form has coincided with the best of the Eagles this year including the wins over Richmond and Fremantle in the past fortnight.

“It is nice to be back,” he said on Tuesday.

He admits that 2022 and 2023 were a struggle.

“That’s just footy. In and out of form and obviously with some injuries in our team - a fair few of them. And then losing games it is hard to get some evidence there - one for the team and then secondly for yourself sometimes,” he said.

It led to a loss of confidence which in turn led to a policy he has set for himself on how to get belief back.

“It is just a matter of getting back to work during the week. It is what you have got to do. It is such a long year and if you can lean on your work during the week to build up your confidence during a game then more times than not you are going to perform well in the game,” he said. “I made that a big emphasis over summer and into the year. I am just trying to get to work during the week and hopefully that translates to game day.”

Like so many teammates at West Coast in 2022 and 2023, Rotham had suffered from injury as well as patchy form. He had looked like starting the 2023 season strongly but suffered a broken arm in a serious mid air collision with Adelaide’s Jordan Dawson in a practice match.

“Self doubt is probably not the way I would put it. It is probably more continuity and consistency. I had faith I would get back to my best footy. If I keep doing my bit for the team and sticking to what we do as a team compliance wise then it will hold me in good stead.”

It helps that the team is playing better and that the team’s two best tall defenders Jeremy McGovern and Tom Barrass are fit and firing, he said.

“My best year of footy was 2021 and they were both in the team for most of the year with not many injuries. I am definitely a better player with them around. It gives me the ability to take the third tall rather than a big key who probably has reach and weight on me. To have them playing good footy around me and me giving them a chop out when they are off the ground is working pretty well at the moment.”

“The mids are also doing a great job. Obviously you have got Harley Reid in there - not sure if you know him,” he joked. “Yeoey is back to his best and TK (Tim Kelly) won our b&f last year.”

“And credit to Bailey Williams he is playing really good footy and he was outstanding on Saturday.”

If Reid plays with the brash confidence of a youngster who barely believes failure is possible, Rotham now has the quiet confidence of a 26-year-old who has seen a low point - then seen it off with hard work.

Winning, he said, was all the more sweet because you got to share it with the people who saw you through harder times.

“Just having your family down in the rooms - I know it was pretty special for me last week and this week to have my parents down there - really pumped to see smiles on their faces. It makes all the hard work worth it.”

Rotham was drafted in 2016 and reckons he used to think it was “bulldust” when veterans told him how quickly a career goes.

Now he knows the truth of it and is grateful for strong mentors. He credits former development coach Mark Nicoski for providing him with brutal honesty to get him “AFL ready”.

McGovern, Barrass, Shannon Hurn, Will Schofield, Lewis Jetta and Eric Mackenzie were all pretty handy to do an apprenticeship under, he said.

“It was quite daunting - I was an Eagles fan growing up so when I first came here there were people here I was looking up to on the telly. But I had really good guys to learn off,”he said.

“My contest work I pride myself on now and coming in it was the number one thing I needed to work on. That’s been a nice shift for me. It starts with that and everything else kind of flows from that,” he said.

He believed that the Eagles rapid turnaround was in part about determination to prove a point and in part about a really good environment established at the club over summer.

“Just knowing I can come here and be myself has helped me a lot on my footy - they have created a good environment here this year where people can come and be themselves - I guess maturity comes with that a little bit,” he said.

He said the Eagles would approach the away trip to the Gold Coast in the same way they had taken on the last three weeks.

“We are going after contest, pressure and front half footy,” he said. “Big travel - if we can stay tight and play with spirit it can hold us in good stead and we can get another win - that would be nice.”
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There might be a lot of hype around Harley Reid at West Coast at the moment but the Eagles’ stunning form reversal in the past fortnight has also had some unsung heroes.
In the 37-point Western derby win against Fremantle – ruckman Bailey Williams was one such quiet achiever.

Tasked with the job of confronting Fremantle ruck duo Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson with only youngster Jack Williams for back up, Bailey Williams had 13 disposals, took four contested marks including one massive clunk at centre half forward in the first quarter, had four clearances and won 15 contested possessions.

Jackson kicked two goals but didn’t take a mark until the last 90 seconds of the game. Darcy had 30 hit outs but was far from dominant. The Eagles were able to claw back an early mauling around stoppage and turn it into a marginal loss across four quarters and that was enough to translate into wins in most other areas of the game.

“I am happy. I was up against what they are saying is one of the best ruck duos in the comp. Me and Jack Williams – I thought we did a great job and it is a credit to our mids as well – we fought hard and we put on a good show,” Williams said.

Williams, who turned 24 last week, has been gradually building his ruck craft in a role forced upon him by injuries two seasons in a row.

Last year Nic Naitanui went down on the eve of the season and didn’t play at all. This year recruit Matt Flynn tore a hamstring tendon – again on the eve of the season and hasn’t played yet.

Williams, who had been preparing to play a forward ruck role this year until Flynn’s injury, was forced to adjust quickly.

“I have jumped around a bit. I was forward for a bit and with Flynn out now I am doing a lot more rucking which I did last year. I feel like in the first few games I was building and I feel now like I am back at my best and it is also a credit to the mids we are playing some bloody good footy.”

“I turned 24 a couple of days ago. In the scheme of things I am still young and I am still learning. I have got a long way to go but I am starting to feel good and I am enjoying my footy,” he said.

Williams said the Eagles players were thriving on coach Adam Simpson’s simple messaging – contests, clearances and inside fifties. Take those little wins and big wins will follow.

“We wanted to strip it right back and just go after the contest – back ourselves in. For me it was just going hard at the contest and I think we got that right and footy is pretty simple once you get it in. The forwards were doing their job as well and so were the backs – a team effort,” he said.

One of the side effects of going after the contested sid of the game has been that West Coast’s pressure around the ground – which has been below accepted AFL standards for two seasons – has been exceptional in the past three games for two wins and an honourable loss to Sydney.

“It is something we have been chasing – that pressure all over the ground. If we can just pressure the oppo we will get results and that has shown in the last two weeks. It has been a while since we have had some success. We are trying to stay humble but we are happy,” he said.

“We don’t read too much into weak sides or strong sides. We want to play our brand and go after our identity and that has worked for us. If we can keep doing that I think it will hold us in good stead.”

“That’s our pressure and our hunger for the contest that we talk about. We do our job, we get it into the forwards and if they can put pressure on we lock it in our half. It makes things really simple and Simmo has been great at putting simple goals for us to go after and it is showing.”

He said the Eagles midfield – headlined by Reid but spearheaded by Elliot Yeo and Tim Kelly, had been “amazing” in the past fortnight.

“They make my job a lot easier and I love playing with them so it is great.”

“They have all got their strengths. They are all different in their own way but still similar. They all break tackles – they are tough and they are clean.”

Williams said he had “landed on my neck and nearly did a front flip” when he took his first quarter screamer.

Winning was a good feeling but the Eagles weren’t getting ahead of themselves.

“To get two wins in a row – it’s been a while since we have had that. We will butter up again and go hard next week.”
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I think JD had seven nation army, or whatever the actual name of that song was.
I know they all can't be memes, but meh.
Harley could take "we are the prodigy"

I feel like thos is the wro g spot for this in amongst Keys journalism articles but i don't know where it goes xD. Maybe the podcast thread, although no one goes there.
 

1st: Why would you want to go to that graveyard of a club that is West Coast?

But when you talk about Harley being as good a player at North...

“There are question marks on the development, the resources and the players around him.
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2: Why didn't the Eagles find trades for Yeo, McGovern, Barrass and Darling?

Then...

“North Melbourne have cut so deep; they don’t have these superstars to teach draftees the habits and how to set up the week Monday to Friday.”
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I wonder if anyone takes the media seriously?
 
In amongst a sea of clickbait and nuffs, it’s great to see some people actually trying to drive footy analysis forward.

This site has just launched, from Emlyn Breese. Pull up any game from the last four years and get proper data.

credittodubois.com

Credit to Du Bois

credittodubois.com credittodubois.com

IMG_7442.png
 
Bender_ said:

1st: Why would you want to go to that graveyard of a club that is West Coast?

But when you talk about Harley being as good a player at North...



2: Why didn't the Eagles find trades for Yeo, McGovern, Barrass and Darling?

Then...



I wonder if anyone takes the media seriously?
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It's why I never take the talking heads seriously. These blokes in the Vic media are so desperate for us to cut our veterans loose...THE SAME THING THEY CRITICISE NORTH FOR..and look how good it did North..they're worse off because they don't have any old heads to set standards.

Harley might've been just as good at North, who knows, I doubt it because he wouldn't be playing along side a rejuvenated Yeo and Tim Kelly and teams would have multiple players sitting on him at every contest...plus, all of that is mental masturbation anyway because he's an Eagles player. Be happy with picks 2 and 3 and move on.
 
Carbine Chaos said:
Was it confirmed what the comments were? I heard they weren't racial in nature at least.
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They weren't. Someone on here said they heard it and he was called a druggie. The level of aggression and the direct personal abuse was the issue. I don't think it warrants a club statement though, but it is 2024, so hurt feelings are seen as a big deal.
 
Can someone drop link for this article on gaffy in?

West Coast veteran Andrew Gaff opens up on his axing and ambition to return to Eagles’ AFL side​

 
Materafrom55 said:
Can someone drop link for this article on gaffy in?

West Coast veteran Andrew Gaff opens up on his axing and ambition to return to Eagles’ AFL side​

Click to expand...

here you go

West Coast star Harley Reid has revealed his favourite places in WA after being drafted from Victoria to play with the Eagles.

In a viral TikTok posted by theherdsmanmarket, the 19-year-old answered questions about his favourite things to do around Perth, including his favourite supermarket to visit.

Reid explained he couldn’t go past The Herdsman Market, a fresh food grocer in Churchlands, which he dubbed his “number one”.


The young gun also revealed he enjoys hitting the beaches along Perth’s coast and in the southwest of WA.

“I love to get around the beaches over here in the west,” he began.

“Probably down south... there’s nice beaches down there and places,” he continued.

The footy star continued to answer questions as he strolled the supermarket’s aisles, revealing he also enjoys a skinny cappuccino and is a sucker for a carbonara as his pre-game fuel.

The West Coast utility had all the fan love during a training session on Tuesday after a stellar matchwinning performance during Saturday’s western derby at Optus Stadium, where he ended the match with three goals, 19 disposals and seven clearances.

Reid recently made headlines after he was spotted cosying up with 19-year-old AFLW player Yasmin Duursma — with the pair later confirming they are seeing each other.
Click to expand...
 
Cuzz09 said:
Can we please put out some feelers to see if LDU will join WCE.

Imagine him, Harley and Yeo

Jeepers!!!

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app
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I'm hesistant on wanting LDU. I'm worried he's infected with North Melbourne-nuss, don't want that spreading around the club. Certainly in the right age bracket, just depends what kind of money he is chasing. Our track record of getting gun free agents isn't great - will probably end up at geelong.

Whilst we're on player songs - we were having a laugh at work about the empty stadium covid era, Dom Sheed's song was 'Bee-Gees - stayin' alive'. We had our opening game of that season vs melbourne in front of about 4000 people, so the songs came through pretty clearly on the tv, sheed kicked 2. The whinge crowd complaining over poor taste, normal people finding it amusing
 
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