Google ‘annus horribilis’ and you’d be surprised the West Coast Eagles’ 2022 season doesn’t pop up.

Virtually everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the side last year, leading to one of the most stunning falls from grace in recent memory, falling from just outside the top eight in 2021 to a two-win, 17th-placed 2022 season, only above North Melbourne on percentage.

It was a year the Eagles are desperate to put in the rear-view mirror in 2023.

“It was a bitter pill to swallow, really. There was a bit of weight against us early in the season that was hard to recover from,” Liam Duggan told foxfooty.com.au.

“Certainly the results and even a little bit of how we played last year were quite disappointing, but there were some really good signs towards the end of the year, and we’ve had a great pre-season to launch at this year as well.

“We’re pretty optimistic about what we can do this season.”

First, however, there’s no getting past who won’t be there: Josh Kennedy.

The club’s greatest ever goalkicker hung up the boots at the close of last season, drawing to a close one of the AFL’s most decorated careers, topping the club’s goalkicking even at the age of 35.

It’s a huge loss and one that could be compounded further in the early rounds with Jack Darling battling to overcome an ankle complaint.

While Darling and some of his veteran teammates such as Nic Naitanui may not be ready for the season-opener (we’ve taken an optimistic view including them in the Round 1 side below), the long-term prognosis is far more positive than last year, when the club could never truly get its best players out on the park for much of the season.

“The health of the list is probably the key one. There’s obviously subtle changes around how we play and where blokes are playing,” Duggan said of the 2023 outlook.

“But it’s definitely the health of the list that’s key. You find historically across the competition, if you have a full squad to choose from, that’s where success lies.

“That’s probably our biggest factor leading into this season.

After a forgettable season, the Eagles didn’t make wholesale list changes that were perhaps expected.

Shannon Hurn’s decision to continue at the age of 35 is indicative of a side that isn’t throwing the baby out with the bathwater just yet, but it also leaves the club in something of a “no man’s land”, according to former St Kilda star Leigh Montagna.

“I don’t think they’ve got enough young talent to be seeing those green shoots and handing the keys over to that group, so they’re still going to be relying on their 29-plus players, most of them premiership players and All-Australians, but they’re getting towards the ends of their careers,” Montagna said on Fox Footy’s 2023 season preview show.

It leaves coach Adam Simpson with a task that’s incredibly difficult, according to two-time North Melbourne premiership player David King.

“I think Adam Simpson’s got the toughest job in football this year,” he told Fox Footy.

“To get them back being competitive, new methods, there’s been a tinkering with the way they want to play

“They’ve challenged their players to get fitter, they clearly haven’t been at the level the last couple of years – whether that’s through injury or lack of desire, which can happen when you’ve had a premiership. They were impacted by Covid but that’s not an out for them last year, they were poor.

“So their leadership group have to regain their form and their ability to actually lead. I look at (Elliot) Yeo he looks a different commodity, Nic Nat’s out at the moment, (Jeremy) McGovern looks really fit, the fittest I’ve seen him in years, (Andrew) Gaff’s back to full health, (Tim) Kelly’s got to step up, (Dom) Sheed’s got to step up.”

“So their leadership group have to regain their form and their ability to actually lead. I look at (Elliot) Yeo he looks a different commodity, Nic Nat’s out at the moment, (Jeremy) McGovern looks really fit, the fittest I’ve seen him in years, (Andrew) Gaff’s back to full health, (Tim) Kelly’s got to step up, (Dom) Sheed’s got to step up.”

Speed

Bringing Jayden Hunt into the side is an indication the Eagles are aware more pace is required, but it also relies on Adam Simpson and the coaches tinkering with a game plan that didn’t seem to be as effective as it once was.

The kick-mark, methodical build from defence to offence was simply not getting the job done in the 2022-23 version of football, with the stand rule aiding teams willing to take the game on more.

While not identical situations, there could be similarities to Geelong, with the Cats altering their game plan to be more aggressive in 2022 to great effect.

A similar shift is expected for the Eagles, who showed in their practice games a desire to be more daring with their ball movement. Albeit their poor kicking efficiency cost them against Adelaide, which pounced on West Coast’s turnovers and subsequently hit the scoreboard.

WHERE ARE THEY ON THE PREMIERSHIP CLOCK?

12pm

Retaining so many of their older players is a tricky move to assess. On the one hand, it will keep them somewhat competitive in the short-term, but conversely it could extend the amount of time before they’re a side in premiership contention.

While North Melbourne finished further down the ladder, the Roos may be closer to a flag than the Eagles given they’ve gone hard at the rebuild rather than a ‘soft’ regeneration.

PREDICTED LADDER RANGE

11th-14th

PREDICTED ROUND 1 TEAM

B: Shannon Hurn, Tom Barrass, Tom Cole

HB: Reuben Ginbey, Jeremy McGovern, Luke Shuey

C: Andrew Gaff, Tim Kelly, Jayden Hunt

HF: Elijah Hewett, Oscar Allen, Jamie Cripps

F: Liam Ryan, Jack Darling, Jake Waterman

FOLL: Nic Naitanui, Elliot Yeo, Dom Sheed

I/C: Jai Culley, Connor West, Alex Witherden, Bailey Williams, Sam Petrevski-Seton