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Eagles give Voss the all clear

September 1st 2008 08:29
WEST COAST chief executive chief executive Trevor Nisbett confirmed Michael Voss has been approached by the Brisbane Lions to replace Leigh Matthews.

Nisbett said the club would not stand in their assistant coach's way if he was offered a senior role.

"This morning's situation is, Michael is committed to us and I would think that he's got a serious decision to make if Brisbane offer him the senior coaching job," Nisbett said.

"But ... our club certainly won't stand in the way of someone taking a senior job if it in fact (it) is going to be offered to him."

"From our point of view, we're hopeful that he'll still be with us but it's now just a hope rather than we know he's with us."


Nisbett also said Voss had called the club as soon as he was contacted by the Lions.

"He (Voss) actually asked permission, which I think is a real testament to what Michael is like, and I gave him that permission because we are not going to stand in the way of somebody furthering their career if it's a senior position," said Nisbett.

"(But) If I had of said 'no, you can't speak to Brisbane', I'm sure he would have said 'OK, I'm out of the running'."

"What will happen in the next 48 hours we don't really know."

"I think it won't be a case of dragging it out for a long period of time."
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Eagles will give everything: Worsfold

August 27th 2008 05:59
WEST COAST coach John Worsfold has admitted that a win against reigning premiers and ladder leaders Geelong at Skilled Stadium on Saturday is unlikely.

But Worsfold promised that his players will compete to the best of their abilities.

"It would be a big win if we could do it but all we can guarantee is that we'll go out and give it everything, not just count down the minutes in the game until the end of the season, but just go out and enjoy the challenge of playing against a great side," Worsfold said.

"This week we'll go out to compete and play at our best and the expectation is probably not that we're a great chance to win but anything can happen.


"You go out to get your match-ups as good as you can get them, give players great opportunities and you expect them to do their best."

Following the Cats' 33-point win over the Kangaroos, Geelong coach Mark Thompson said the Eagles will experience the 'hardest day of their lives' against his side.

However, Worsfold believes Thompson is just trying to fire up the minor premiers for a seemingly meaningless encounter.

"Mark Thompson made a statement that is really directed at the Geelong players more than at us," Worsfold said.

"So he's dealing with his side, they're going through a lot of different emotions this week and he'll deal with it in his own way and I'm interested to sit back and see how he deals with that and what impact it has."

Worsfold also said his side was not looking for revenge after the Cats thumped West Coast by 135 points in round 13 - the club's worst-ever loss at Subiaco Oval.

"It (the loss) taught us a good lesson, there's no doubt about that, not just from Geelong, but where we stood and why we couldn't really close any sort of gap to stop them scoring," he said.

"That was a game where the players were pretty strong about not being beaten like that again, but we have to make sure we've learned from it in the long term."

Meanwhile, small forward Mark LeCras is a chance to return after being a late withdrawal from last weekend's match against Hawthorn with an adductor strain while veteran David Wirrpanda (bruised buttocks/hamstring) is unlikely to play.
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Coaches pay tribute to Braun

August 25th 2008 01:28
WEST COAST veteran Michael Braun has finished his AFL career with a typically rugged performance in the Eagles' 71-point loss to Hawthorn at Subiaco Oval on Sunday.

Braun managed 23 disposals in his 228th match and showed great courage in the final term when he put his body on the line and backed into Cyril Rioli.

But Braun played down the incident, saying he simply did what had to be done.

"That's how I play my footy and I pride myself on putting my body on the line when it's my turn to go," he said.

"(And), it was my turn to go."

"It's pretty sad to bring it to an end, but all good things do come to an end and I've had a fantastic career, I can't complain, I'm a premiership player and life member of this club."

"I didn't want it to end, but I did kind of."

"I'm very sore at night, I just need a really good rest ... and I can't get comfortable at night. It's just an aching pain, but that's footy (and) I've sacrificed that to get to play football."

Braun's courage was put into perspective by West Coast coach John Worsfold who said the 30-year-old would have been rested had he not been retiring.

"Brauny was hobbling during the week and it wasn't ideal," Worsfold said.

"It was one of the weeks that if it was earlier in the year, he would have rested but he had a commitment to get himself up for the game and he did that."

"It was a great effort by him and as I've said, his whole career he showed that to the end, all his contests on the ground today."

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson paid tribute to Braun who orginally hails from the Victorian town of Echuca.

"Usually when guys play at an interstate club at some point in a 10 to 12-year-career there's some speculation about when they return home," Clarkson said.

"The very fact that it's never come up in a debate at our footy club ... says a hell of a lot about the bloke. I thought he was a Western Australian, that's how heavily cemented he was in the culture of the West Coast footy club."

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Daniher joins Eagles

August 19th 2008 08:02
WEST COAST has strengthened its off-field team with the appointment of former Melbourne coach Neale Daniher as general manager of football operations

Daniher, who coached the Demons for a decade, taking them to the grand final in 2000, has been chief executive of the AFL Coaches Association for the last 12 months.

West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett said Daniher will add 'great value' to the club.

"We were looking for someone with a strong coaching and administrative background and identified Neale as the best person for this role," he said.

"As a player and a coach he was a high achiever and has also been successful in the last 12 months as Chief Executive of the AFL Coaches Association.

"He is a man of impeccable character, someone who will add great value to our football club as we begin our resurgence as a powerful on-field force in the AFL."

Daniher, who will join West Coast in November said he was looking forward to the challenge of helping the Eagles rise back up the ladder.

"It's an exciting challenge and a great time to begin with the West Coast Eagles," Daniher said.

"I believe the club is well positioned to rebound quickly from what has been a disappointing season, particularly given its proud history.

"The club has a terrific young list and I look forward to playing my role in assisting the club's climb back up the AFL ladder."

West Coast coach John Worsfold said Daniher would play a key role in helping the Eagles rebound from what has been one of the worst seasons in its history.

"I have been very impressed in the conversations I have had with Neale over the past couple of months," Worsfold said.

"He brings to the table exactly the attributes we were looking for and believe he will assist us greatly in our vision for the team.

"Obviously his appointment is a key strategic development in the broad picture that we have for our club and I look forward to working with him."

Current football operations manager Trevor Woodhouse will share his duties with Daniher from next year.

Woodhouse will be responsible for list management and player contracts while Daniher will focus on the team and operational components of the role.


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Braun set to delay farewell match

August 18th 2008 07:20
WEST COAST veteran Michael Braun looks set to put his retirement on hold for another week due to the club's injury crisis.

Braun initially wanted Sunday's clash against Hawthorn at Subiaco Oval to be his farewell match but with the club's injury list now numbering 16 players, Braun has put his hand up to play in West Coast's round 22 encounter against Geelong at Skilled Stadium.

Eagles assistant coach Peter Sumich said Braun was likely to play against the Cats.

"Whether it's his last game or not this week we'll wait and see because with the amount of injuries we've got he will probably be forced to play against Geelong," he said.

"This (game against the Hawks) was more than likely going to be it but ... the way we're going with injuries, more than likely he'll have to front up against Geelong.

"It was always tentative with everything that was said about his last game, even this week, so he's happy to continue on and see the year out."

Sumich also said forward Ashley Hansen was a "strong possibility" to return this week from a rolled ankle but veteran David Wirrpanda (hamstring) is only a 50-50 chance.

Key defender Beau Wilkes is also no certainty to line up against the Hawks after being stretchered off the ground with a neck injury in the Eagles' 34-point loss to Melbourne at the MCG last Saturday.

The 22-year-old will undergo scans before a further assessemnt is made.
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Tanking talk a 'disgrace'

August 17th 2008 00:58
WEST COAST coach John Worsfold has lashed out at former AFL coaches Stan Alves and Grant Thomas who suggested during the week that his side was better off losing to Melbourne in order to get another high-placed draft pick.

Worsfold did not name the two former St Kilda coaches in his post-match press conference but strongly defended any claims that his side was tanking.

"For past coaches of the game to get involved in talking about it I think is a disgrace," Worsfold said.

"It really reflects poorly on them as people to say that draft picks are more important than winning. I understand there's people out there that may think that way and it is a massive reflection on them."

"Our club has never been a willing participant in talking about anything to do with draft picks and we never will be. It doesn't hurt me (personally) but I think it reflects very, very badly on those people. I think it's a shame that there are people out there who would do that."

Alves and Thomas said in Melbourne's Herald Sun on Friday that the benefits of losing to the Demons far outweighed those of winning.

"I would be saying to myself, 'I've got a real chance here to play kids, experiment and, along the way, actually lose and get a crack at a priority pick'," Alves said.

Added Thomas: "Whilst the players will be trying, I'm not so sure the club will be keen."

West Coast has four wins for the season and is unlikely to add to that tally given that they finish the home-and-away season with matches against Hawthorn and reigning premiers and ladder leaders Geelong.

That means the Eagles will go into the national draft with picks two, 18 and 20. If they had beaten the Demons they would have been stripped of pick 18.

The Eagles actually led by three goals at the four-minute mark of the second quarter but failed to fire a shot from that moment on, managing just one more goal for the match as the Demons cruised to just their third win of the season.

Worsfold said his side's performance was 'not acceptable'.

"We were just terrible. It was well below what's expected, even with a fairly young side. It was not acceptable," he said.

Worsfold challenged his side to turn things around.

"They have to look each other in the eye now and that's what I've asked them to do and answer to each other," he said.

"It will be interesting to see what they come up with."



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Wirrpanda, Hansen set to miss

August 13th 2008 06:05
WEST COAST forward Ashley Hansen and veteran David Wirrpanda look set to miss Saturday's clash against Melbourne at the MCG.

Eagles coach John Worsfold said Hansen, who rolled his ankle in last Sunday's 10-point win over Essendon at Subiaco Oval and Wirrpanda, who suffering a badly corked buttocks, were unlikely to play.

Promising midfielder Brad Ebert is expected to return after missing a week with a sore groin, while tagger James Thomson and forward Tony Notte are a chance to make their AFL debut.

Worsfold said Notte was the most likely of the pair to get the nod.

"If Hansen is out then we've got, as in tall forwards to replace him, probably only Tony Notte available," Worsfold said.

"I think he's good enough to play AFL.

"He's like all teenagers, over the next two or three years he'll physically develop to get closer to achieving his full potential, but he's probably good enough now.

"He's quick and he's got clean hands. They are two good strengths to have."


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Eagles hold off Bombers

August 10th 2008 10:04
WEST COAST has ended Essendon's season with a thrilling 10-point win at Subiaco Oval on Sunday.

The Eagles led at every change and survived a last-quarter surge from the Bombers, eventually prevailing 17.11 (113) to 16.7 (103).

The loss means Essendon is now two games and percentage outside the eight with three rounds remaining.

Ben McKinley starred for West Coast with a career-best seven goals while David Wirrpanda and Adam Selwood chimed in with three and two goals respectively.

Michael Braun, Chad Fletcher, Quinten Lynch and Adam Selwood were all busy contributors, collecting 20-plus disposals while Dean Cox was effective in the ruck with 21 possessions and 36 hit-outs.

For Essendon, Jobe Watson (31 possessions) and Andrew Lovett (26 disposals) tried hard all day while skipper Matthew Lloyd and Jason Laycock chimed in with three goals each.

The Bombers may have had everything to play for but the Eagles showed a greater willingness to win the contested football from the opening bounce with Braun particularly influential in the first term with 10 disposals.

West Coast moved the football quickly through the middle of the ground and booted six goals for the quarter with McKinley and Wirrpanda chiming in with two each to help the Eagles to a 19-point lead at quarter-time.

The Eagles continued to dominate in the middle in the second term and McKinley benefited from his teammates hard work, booting two in a minute, including a spectacular grubber goal from the boundary line to help extend West Coast's advantage to 38 points at the main break.

Lloyd came to life after half-time, booting two of his side's five goals in the third term to give the Bombers a glimmer of hope heading into the final change, with the Eagles holding a 20-point lead.

The Bombers kept coming in the final term but the Eagles had all the answers with McKinley's seventh major sealing West Coast's fourth win of the season.

WEST COAST: 6.3, 10.6, 12.9, 17.11 (113)
ESSENDON: 3.2, 4.4, 9.7, 16.7 (103)
GOALS: West Coast: McKinley 7, Wirrpanda 3, A Selwood 2, Lynch, Davis, Braun, Fletcher, LeCras. Essendon: Lloyd 3, Laycock 3, Jetta 2, Dyson, Ramanauskas, McPhee, Hille, Monfries, Lovett, Dempsey.
BEST: WEST COAST: Lynch, Braun, McKinley, Fletcher, A Selwood, Cox, Davis. ESSENDON: Watson, Lovett, Dyson, Lloyd.
BEST: West Coast: Lynch, Braun, McKinley, Fletcher, Selwood, Cox, Davis
Essendon: Watson, Lovett, Dyson, Lloyd
INJURIES: West Coast: Hansen (ankle)
Essendon: Nil
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Nil
UMPIRES: Nicholls, Wenn, Keating
CROWD: 35,288 at Subiaco Oval



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Staker, Kennedy out for season

August 6th 2008 06:10
THE season is over for West Coast utility Brent Staker and key forward Josh Kennedy with the pair requiring surgery.

Staker needs an operation on his right thumb which was injured in the first quarter of Sunday's 33-point loss to Fremantle while Kennedy requires a shoulder reconstruction.

Kennedy, who will undergo surgery tomorrow tried to resume full training this week but a PCL injury had not recovered.

Meanwhile, Staker ruptured a ligament in his right thumb and also received a small avulsion fracture. The recovery period after surgery will be six to eight weeks.


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Kerr's season over

August 4th 2008 07:52
DANIEL Kerr has played his last game for the season with the star West Coast midfielder requiring knee surgery.

Kerr has damage to the cartilage behind the knee right knee cap, a similar injury to that which prematurely ended the season of defender Brett Jones a couple of weeks ago.

The 25-year-old had hoped that a suspension-enforced lay-off would enable him to play out the season, but he was unable to cope with the training load in the last three weeks and will have surgery this week.


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Glass to finish season: Worsfold

August 4th 2008 04:16
WEST COAST skipper Darren Glass will play out the rest of the season despite struggling with injury, according to coach John Worsfold.

"At this stage he'll play the season out, unless he believes he can't contribute," Worsfold said.

"It's going to mean that at times our young defenders are going to take up some big jobs to help him out.

"He is still our best defender and he is very keen as the leader to support the team through a tough year, and he's fit enough to do it at the moment."


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Colbert rejects Eagles' offer

August 1st 2008 10:58
FORMER North Melbourne and Geelong player Leigh Colbert has rejected an offer to join West Coast in a coaching role in 2009.

Colbert is a reporter for Fox Sports and also holds a commercial pilot's license. It is believed his desire to focus on these careers was behind his decision to reject the offer from the Eagles.



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Glass set to return

July 30th 2008 04:32
WEST COAST skipper Darren Glass looks set to play in Sunday's western derby against Fremantle after overcoming a thight strain.

Glass sustained the injury during the Eagles' loss to Brisbane in round 16 and missed last Saturday's 17-point win over St Kilda.

But after a week on the sidelines Glass said he was moving freely and 'very confident' that he would play.

"(I'm) very confident that I'll play," Glass said.

"I just missed out last week and so (I) still have a few more boxes to tick in terms of training sessions ... but very confident.

"I've been able to run pretty much close to full pace so as long as I get through training today and Friday I'll be right."



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Ebert wins nomination

July 29th 2008 01:54
WEST COAST midfielder Brad Ebert has been rewarded for his impressive performance against St Kilda at Subiaco Oval last Saturday with the round 17 NAB Rising Star nomination.

The 18-year-old collected 25 possessions and booted three goals in the Eagles' 17-point win over the Saints.

Ebert was taken by the Eagles with pick No.13 in the 2007 national draft and has played 13 games so far this season.

West Coast coach John Worsfold said Ebert was highly rated by the club.

"Brad has impressed us all with his attitude and willingness to learn from the day he joined the club," Worsfold said.

"He earned his opportunities through outstanding form in the WAFL and has shown why our recruiting staff rated him so highly last year."

Ebert is the nephew of South Australian football legend Russell Ebert and the cousin of Port Adelaide forward Brett Ebert.

He is West Coast’s second nomination this season following Ben McKinley in round five.


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