Are West Coast the worst team since Fitzroy 1996?

[ItsAllAboutMe]

Of course it's his fault. Why is he not being criticised now in the media? The team was shit with senior players 2 years ago so they should have dropped them for younger guys but he refused and it created a culture of the senior guys not putting in much effort but still being selected which filtered down throughout the club. Simpson may be decent with tactics but he's a shocking motivator and developer

Spot on, since Covid the Eagles senior players who were on fat contracts gave up and set a poor standard for the rest of the group which has filtered down to the young talent who is no surprise haven’t not developed as well as they should. This is all on Simpson who because of his former North mates who are scattered throughout the media have meant he has escaped criticism.

On top of this the Eagles poor draft strategy of prioritising Western Australian kids ahead of best available has meant they are in for a long period of pain.

 

[WilloTree]

Fremantle 2001 ranks a mention.

No it doesn't. 2 wins is a bad season, sure, but they had a percentage of 72%.

To put that in to perspective, in 2012 that wouldn't have even had them in the bottom 4 percentages. (Giants being the worst with 46%)

West Coast haven't had a percentage above 72 since 2021. To bring the point back to the thread, the Eagles have had a worse percentage in 2022, 2023, 2024 and currently 2025 than Freo's worst ever season.

 

[CarterS]

You know that a team is going horrendously when the media conversation turns to "are their training standards up to scratch?"

 

[iameviljez]

Again.... I look at the demons 2012-3 list. I didn't think it was that terrible.

Their previous season, they got 8 wins under Dean Bailey before that infamous beating vs the cats in Geelong.

Swans side of 1992-4 was terrible.

• 3 wins in 1992
• 1 win in 1993
• 4 wins in 1994

That was a dire 3 years.

• 8 wins in 1995
• 16 wins in 1996 and a grand final

They were

Again.... I look at the demons 2012-3 list. I didn't think it was that terrible.

Their previous season, they got 8 wins under Dean Bailey before that infamous beating vs the cats in Geelong.

Swans side of 1992-4 was terrible.

• 3 wins in 1992
• 1 win in 1993
• 4 wins in 1994

That was a dire 3 years.

• 8 wins in 1995
• 16 wins in 1996 and a grand final

I disagree - while it was not well-coached, the list was incredibly thin, particularly forward of centre, where it was Mitch Clark or nothing.

The list looks better than it was, because a number of the young players went on to good careers, but they were undercooked kids at the time (Tom McDonald, Jeremy Howe, Stef Martin), or high draft picks who never lived up to that promise (Watts, Sylvia, Morton, Bate, Dunn, Scully, Trengrove, Grimes, Gysberts, Blease).

Whether that's the fault of the coaching, the talent spotting, the development staff, the strategy, the culture, who knows.

 

[iameviljez]

Fremantle 2001 ranks a mention.

No it doesn't. 2 wins is a bad season, sure, but they had a percentage of 72%.

To put that in to perspective, in 2012 that wouldn't have even had them in the bottom 4 percentages. (Giants being the worst with 46%)

West Coast haven't had a percentage above 72 since 2021. To bring the point back to the thread, the Eagles have had a worse percentage in 2022, 2023, 2024 and currently 2025 than Freo's worst ever season.

I agree with WilloTree . Fremantle 2001 was a very bad season, but it sticks out because they lost their first 17 on the trot, not because they were truly appalling.

IMO there is a difference between a terrible season (Fremantle 2001, Port 2011, etc) and a terrible team. To be a terrible team, you need to be abjectly horrible for a few years running - West Coast and North in recent years, Melbourne early 2010s, Fitzroy mid-90s, Sydney and Brisbane early 90s, StKilda in the 80s.

 

[bzparkes]

You know that a team is going horrendously when the media conversation turns to "are their training standards up to scratch?"

They're jumping on Graham's comments about having one less training session per week, which is due to the travel. Been like that since forever.

Something Vic media would never understand, obviously.

 

[rugmop]

Fitzroy didn't win a game in 1964. They only won a single game in 1963, against Geelong, the eventual premiers. They were a worse side than the 1996 team. 1996 was painful to watch, not so much because of the demise of Fitzroy at its end, but because of the hideous standard of footy we had to endure during that season. Fitzroy often managed to bring the opposition down to their level. It's hard to blame their players though. Any job becomes difficult if there is no guarantee you're going to be paid.

 

[JPetro83]

Crows 2020 were pretty bad...

 

[MadMundy]

From what I remember despite us losing our first 17 games in 2001 we were in quite a lot of them until the end. I don't remember us having too many thrashings that year.

 

[pico]

Their midfield has to be the worst of all time, right? I doubt any of them would get a game at Richmond, certainly not Melbourne who are comfortably bottom 2.

 

[Obeanie1]

Spot on, since Covid the Eagles senior players who were on fat contracts gave up and set a poor standard for the rest of the group which has filtered down to the young talent who is no surprise haven’t not developed as well as they should. This is all on Simpson who because of his former North mates who are scattered throughout the media have meant he has escaped criticism.

On top of this the Eagles poor draft strategy of prioritising Western Australian kids ahead of best available has meant they are in for a long period of pain.

Is Harley from WA?

Chesser?

They split picks in years where the top picks were mummies boys and flight risks. The same years where the top WA talent wasn't rated as top 5 talent.

Recent WA draftees Ginbey 9, Hewett 12 and Bo Allan 16.

Are they all busts are they?

Reid at pick 1. Chesser pick 12. Both Vic Country. Like Archer Reid and Jobe Shanahan.

Pretty shallow analysis you have there.

 

[btdg]

Carlton in 2002-3 was terrible. But that was not doing what all 15 other clubs did in the 1990s which was get quality scouts to draft decent teenage kids.

Had they drafted lots of decent kids from 1997-2000, their 2002 drop wasn't bad.

They decided to tank In 2005-7. But trading a fair bit to get Chris Judd had to be done. Chris Judd helped that Carlton playing list.

Not only did they get a Premiership player, Judd was a hard trainer and leadership/ captain material.

I don't think there is an ounce of reality in this.

Carlton 2002 wasn't that bad by historical standards. 3-19 with a percentage of 74 isn't close to others mentioned and we finished 15th with 4 wins the following year.

The problem with that team also wasn't drafting. We had a strong crew of players 22 and under. The big issue was salary cap - too many high paid players, and that led initially to an exodus of guys aged 23-24 who were 'next up' (Hamill, Murphy, Porter, etc). Then in 2002 a horror injury year, with no depth = double whammy.

We also didn't 'tank from 05-07'. We were just shit. The above starting point presented challenges - we still had overpaid players and little flexibility, AND then had the salary cap punishments (draft picks well known, but more important was the crippling financial hit - we had zero scope to improve off field). And just ongoing horror injury luck (which counterbalanced a good run in the 90s). The only time tanking allegations hold up is 07 when we faced a stupid situation due to the PP rule changes (lose and get picks 1 and 3, win and get pick 2 only, despite finishing in the same ladder spot regardless of outcome). Even then.... We were a really shit team....

The truth is that Judd saved us from spiralling the drain. He brought in higher standards which helped a rise from the depths, but it is bloody hard. Hence my sympathy for where West Coast are now. Who is their Judd likely to be?

 

[BigVic]

Us in Tony Shaw's final years in the mid-late 90s was not a good time for us.

Ended a decade which began with breaking a 32 year drought with a spoon

 

[Scotland]

Spot on, since Covid the Eagles senior players who were on fat contracts gave up and set a poor standard for the rest of the group which has filtered down to the young talent who is no surprise haven’t not developed as well as they should. This is all on Simpson who because of his former North mates who are scattered throughout the media have meant he has escaped criticism.

Easy from the cheap seats.

Which senior players are you referring to?

 

[ItsAllAboutMe]

Easy from the cheap seats.

Which senior players are you referring to?

Darling, Yeo, Gaff, Sheed, Kelly

 

[Happy Mastenator]

To be fair we’ve versed the top 3 teams in the league in the first 5 games.

But, yes, we are shit. Thanks captain obvious.

 

[PCORF]

When Adelaide were awful when they dropped 17 in a row from 2019 to 2020. West Coast the last few years are been pretty awful too.

But the 1 win GWS team in 2013 were pretty dreadful too losing 9 times by 80+ points and 5 times by over 100 points that very season. They also dropped 21 straight games. The Giants were 3-41 in their first 2 seasons.

 

[Scotland]

Darling, Yeo, Gaff, Sheed, Kelly

Darling played almost every game since covid and was only dropped because we had Oscar Allen and Jake Waterman. Just played game 300 so can't really fault his training and fitness.

Yeo played 10, 12, 5, 10, games from 2020 to 2023 then 20 last year. You reckon he wasn't busting his ring last year?

Gaff's output dropped off from 2022. Should've been dropped much earlier than he was but harder to do when you have no one to bring in.

Sheed had a career best year in 2021 and has since played 1, 15, 8 games and did an ACL in the pre season.

Kelly won the B&F in 2023 but hasn't done a lot since. As I have been saying since 2018 he isn't that good. Played a couple of really good games last year but always off the back of Yeo or Reid.

 

[Stottzy]

Are we gonna have "worse than Fitzroy" thread everytime there is a bad side? Literally, I reckon every side that's finished bottom gets given this tag.

 

[Scotland]

I feel like Fitzroy were a special case because they were shit in an era when Ross Oakley was looking to rationalise clubs in Victoria. Their poor on field performance coincided with getting the smallest crowds in Melbourne and an appetite for mergers from AFL HQ.

Everyone else has just been shit. North's shitness has extended 5 full seasons of 4 wins or fewer but it's not 2007 so Caroline Wilson isn't pushing them out of the comp. Melbourne's shitness peaked with a 2 win season in 2012 but really extends to a 9 year period from 2007 to 2015. They were historically bad under Dean Bailey then got as high as being an 8 win team before it fell apart and they were somehow even worse under Mark Neeld. Their shitness also coincided with GC and GWS coming in so they had 2 wins in 2 years that weren't against GC or GWS.

West Coast's shitness seems to be being framed against the previous era. 6 x finals, 2 x GF, 1 x flag in a 6 year period is good but actually not that relevant to how shit you are 3 years later, and 3 wins 53% is catastrophically bad.

 

[sabso]

This current West Coast side is worse than their 2022-2024 sides which were compared to Fitzroy 1996.
I know North have been bad in recent years but not even they have been as bad as the current West Coast side.
Port weren't even this bad in 2011 despite having tarps and no money.

Do you think the current West Coast side is the worst since Fitzroy 1996?

Fitzroy 1964

I’m going full Bickley on this one

 

[Roysforever]

Are we gonna have "worse than Fitzroy" thread everytime there is a bad side? Literally, I reckon every side that's finished bottom gets given this tag.

Exactly!

Unfortunately you can set your watch to a comparison each and every year. Any comparison of a modern day club to the issues confronting Fitzroy in the mid 1990s is completely unfair. It's actually farcical.

 

[King Huskii]

Equilibrium

 

[Lach72]

I agree with WilloTree . Fremantle 2001 was a very bad season, but it sticks out because they lost their first 17 on the trot, not because they were truly appalling.

IMO there is a difference between a terrible season (Fremantle 2001, Port 2011, etc) and a terrible team. To be a terrible team, you need to be abjectly horrible for a few years running - West Coast and North in recent years, Melbourne early 2010s, Fitzroy mid-90s, Sydney and Brisbane early 90s, StKilda in the 80s.

Yeah we had a lot of games where we lost by a few kicks.

IIRC I don’t think we lost a game by over 75 in the whole year

 

[Cudi_420]

I'd say probably as bad as Melbourne 2013.