After three successive first-round finals exits, West Coast were looking to go deep into the postseason for the first time since the Mick Malthouse days. They could not have started any better, winning their first eight games and 15 of the first 16 to sit four games clear at the top of the ladder. The side went astray in the final few weeks, losing four of the next six and losing top spot to the Crows in the final round.
After winning a thrilling qualifying final against the Swans, West Coast got redemption against Adelaide in a home prelim to book their place at the MCG on the final Saturday in September for the first time since the 1994 premiership. In one of the most exciting Grand Finals in memory, the Eagles hit the front early in the last quarter but couldn't hang on to the lead. With a last roll of the dice, Dean Cox pumped the ball inside the forward 50 where Sydney fullback Leo Barry etched his name into history with a memorable pack mark just before the siren sounded, ending a 72 year premiership drought for the Swans. Little consolation for West Coast was Chris Judd's Norm Smith medal.
The Eagles' engine room was again spectacular, with captain Ben Cousins awarded the Brownlow Medal and winning his fourth Club Champion award. Judd dropped off only microscopically from his 2004 Brownlow-winning season, and the mercurial Daniel Kerr continued to benefit from the extra attention given to the star duo. Supporting midfield cast Chad Fletcher, Andrew Embley and former Crow Tyson Stenglein played their parts to perfection, and Cox stamped himself as the best ruckman in the league.
Honour board
Coach: John Worsfold
Captain: Ben Cousins
Club Champion: Ben Cousins
Rookie of the Year: Ashley Hansen
Best Clubman: Andrew Embley
Leading Goalscorer: Phil Matera (38)
All-Australians: Ben Cousins, Dean Cox, David Wirrpanda
Rising Star nominees: Adam Selwood (round 16)
Milestones:
250 games: Drew Banfield
200 games: Ben Cousins
150 games: Michael Braun
100 games: Chad Fletcher, Andrew Embley, Daniel Kerr, Dean Cox
Squad
| Senior list | ||||||||
| 16 | Damien Adkins | 1 | Michael Gardiner | 4 | Daniel Kerr | 14 | Mark Seaby | |
| 6 | Drew Banfield v | 11 | Travis Gaspar | 19 | Mark LeCras* | 37 | Adam Selwood | |
| 43 | Zach Beeck | 23 | Darren Glass | 21 | Quinten Lynch | 15 | Brad Smith* | |
| 10 | Michael Braun | 35 | Kasey Green | 33 | Phil Matera | 41 | Brent Staker | |
| 26 | Sam Butler | 29 | Ashley Hansen | 25 | Daniel McConnell | 5 | Tyson Stenglein* | |
| 17 | Daniel Chick | 8 | Jeremy Humm | 2 | Andrew McDougall | 22 | Beau Waters | |
| 9 | Ben Cousins | 39 | Adam Hunter | 12 | Mitch Morton* | 44 | David Wirrpanda | |
| 20 | Dean Cox | 38 | Brett Jones | 31 | Mark Nicoski | 13 | Josh Wooden | |
| 32 | Andrew Embley | 18 | Rowan Jones | 24 | Matt Rosa* | |||
| 7 | Chad Fletcher | 3 | Chris Judd | 28 | Ashley Sampi | |||
| Rookie list | ||||||||
| 45 | Aaron Edwards | 48 | Jaymie Graham | 36 | Ashley Thornton* | |||
| 40 | Michael Embley | 34 | Ben Sharp* | 42 | Beau Wilkes* |
(* New addition to playing list | v Veteran)
| # | Player | Games | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gardiner | 12 | 16 |
| 2 | McDougall | 4 | 3 |
| 3 | Judd | 24 | 15 |
| 4 | Kerr | 22 | 8 |
| 5 | Stenglein | 22 | 9 |
| 6 | Banfield | 25 | 3 |
| 7 | Fletcher | 25 | 17 |
| 9 | Cousins | 24 | 24 |
| 10 | Braun | 24 | 7 |
| 11 | Gaspar | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | Morton | 3 | 1 |
| 13 | Wooden | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Seaby | 19 | 13 |
| 16 | Adkins | 7 | 4 |
| 17 | Chick | 25 | 14 |
| 18 | R.Jones | 4 | 2 |
| 19 | LeCras | 2 | 2 |
| 20 | Cox | 25 | 22 |
| 21 | Lynch | 23 | 31 |
| 23 | Glass | 25 | 2 |
| 24 | Rosa | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | McConnell | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | Butler | 14 | 3 |
| 28 | Sampi | 19 | 20 |
| 29 | Hansen | 20 | 24 |
| 31 | Nicoski | 21 | 12 |
| 32 | Embley | 18 | 24 |
| 33 | Matera | 19 | 38 |
| 35 | Green | 3 | 2 |
| 37 | A.Selwood | 20 | 6 |
| 38 | B.Jones | 22 | 3 |
| 39 | Hunter | 23 | 14 |
| 41 | Staker | 22 | 13 |
| 44 | Wirrpanda | 20 | 2 |
| 45 | Edwards | 4 | 2 |
| 48 | Graham | 2 | 3 |
Results
| Rd | Opponent | Venue | Res | Score | Posn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-season | |||||
| Rd 1 | Fremantle | Subiaco | W | 80-73 | |
| SF | Collingwood | Marrara | W | 106-55 | |
| SF | North Melbourne | Subiaco | W | 120-40 | |
| GF | Carlton | Docklands | L | 84-111 | |
| Home & away | |||||
| 1 | Adelaide | Football Park | W | 64-53 | 8th |
| 2 | Geelong | Subiaco | W | 84-62 | 3rd |
| 3 | Fremantle | Subiaco | W | 88-80 | 3rd |
| 4 | Western Bulldogs | Subiaco | W | 143-107 | 1st |
| 5 | Brisbane | Gabba | W | 157-84 | 1st |
| 6 | Sydney | Subiaco | W | 104-59 | 1st |
| 7 | Hawthorn | York Park | W | 96-77 | 1st |
| 8 | St Kilda | Subiaco | W | 88-52 | 1st |
| 9 | Collingwood | MCG | L | 95-118 | 1st |
| 10 | Port Adelaide | Subiaco | W | 179-62 | 1st |
| 11 | Richmond | MCG | W | 105-103 | 1st |
| 12 | Essendon | Subiaco | W | 106-82 | 1st |
| 13 | Melbourne | MCG | W | 105-90 | 1st |
| 14 | Carlton | Subiaco | W | 139-62 | 1st |
| 15 | North Melbourne | Docklands | W | 101-97 | 1st |
| 16 | Brisbane | Subiaco | W | 111-88 | 1st |
| 17 | Sydney | SCG | L | 67-88 | 1st |
| 18 | Hawthorn | Subiaco | W | 97-49 | 1st |
| 19 | Western Bulldogs | MCG | L | 97-140 | 1st |
| 20 | Fremantle | Subiaco | W | 128-80 | 1st |
| 21 | Geelong | Kardinia Park | L | 33-109 | 1st |
| 22 | Adelaide | Subiaco | L | 74-82 | 2nd |
| QF | Sydney | Subiaco | W | 69-65 | |
| SF | Bye | ||||
| PF | Adelaide | Subiaco | W | 93-77 | |
| GF | Sydney | MCG | L | 54-58 |
Jumpers
(footyjumpers.com)
Club Champion leaderboard
| # | Player | Votes | Games | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Cousins | 477 | 24 | ||
| 2nd | Judd | 416 | 24 | ||
| 3rd | Cox | 411 | 25 | ||
| 4th | Fletcher | 382 | 25 | ||
| 5th | Glass | 367 | 25 | ||
| 6th | Stenglein | 364 | 22 | ||
| 7th | Chick | 363 | 25 | ||
| 8th | Kerr | 340 | 22 | ||
| 9th | Hunter | 340 | 23 | ||
| 10th | Wirrpanda | 337 | 20 |
Stats leaders
| # | Goals | Disposals | Disp/game | Marks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Matera | 38 . | Cousins | 612 . | Cousins | 25.50 . | Cox | 163 |
| 2nd | Lynch | 31 | Fletcher | 589 | Fletcher | 23.56 | Cousins | 146 |
| 3rd | Embley | 24 | Judd | 536 | Judd | 22.33 | Hunter | 135 |
| 4th | Hansen | 24 | Braun | 496 | Kerr | 20.91 | Fletcher | 133 |
| 5th | Cousins | 24 | Kerr | 460 | Embley | 20.83 | Braun | 127 |
| # | Kicks | Handballs | Clearances | Tackles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Cousins | 391 . | Fletcher | 234 . | Judd | 126 . | Chick | 84 |
| 2nd | Fletcher | 355 | Braun | 222 | Kerr | 101 | Stenglein | 79 |
| 3rd | Judd | 336 | Cousins | 221 | Cousins | 98 | Judd | 79 |
| 4th | Wirrpanda | 297 | Judd | 200 | Fletcher | 92 | Kerr | 59 |
| 5th | Braun | 274 | Kerr | 196 | Cox | 74 | Sampi | 52 |
Tribunal
| Rd | Player | Charge | Outcome | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Kerr | Wrestling D.Headland | Accepted $900 fine | |||
| 7 | Hunter | Striking M.Williams | Reduced to reprimand by Tribunal | |||
| 7 | Lynch | Striking C.Brown | Accepted reprimand | |||
| 7 | Matera | Striking M.Osborne | Accepted 1-match suspension | |||
| 8 | Judd | Striking S.Baker | Accepted 1-match suspension | |||
| 10 | Stenglein | Rough conduct against B.Eckermann | Reduced to 1-match suspension by Tribunal | |||
| 12 | Hansen | Wrestling K.Bradley | Accepted $900 fine | |||
| 12 | Edwards | Charging M.Lloyd | Withdrawn by MRP | |||
| 14 | Nicoski | Wrestling H.Scotland | Accepted $900 fine | |||
| 16 | Cox | Striking J.Charman | Accepted reprimand | |||
| 16 | Gardiner | Striking C.Johnson | Accepted 2-match suspension | |||
| 17 (WAFL) | Adkins | Rough conduct and striking | Handed 3-game suspension | |||
| 18 | Sampi | Rough conduct against J.Lewis | Accepted reprimand | |||
| 19 | Chick | Rough conduct against C.Grant | Accepted reprimand | |||
| PF | Gaspar | Striking K.McGregor | Dismissed by Tribunal |
| Season summaries |
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