No pain, no gain: Why Worsfold isn't panicking about the Eagles

Eagles great John Worsfold is back at West Coast, and is confident the club's rebuild will come together quickly

The Eagles after losing the round five match between Carlton and West Coast at Adelaide Oval, April 12, 2025. Picture: Getty Images

WEST Coast great and new head of football John Worsfold remains confident the Eagles' rebuild will click quickly in the next 12 months if the club stays the course by getting as much experience as possible into young players.

The Eagles have come under fierce scrutiny this week following their worst start to a season and a 71-point loss to Carlton that included an historic low contested possession return for the 0-5 team.

Worsfold, who returned to the club ahead of this season to oversee the AFL, AFLW and WAFL programs, acknowledged that fans were tired of "hearing the same spiel" after three years finishing between 16th and 18th.

John Worsfold and Chris Judd with the 2006 premiership cup. Picture: AFL Photos

However, after rebuilding teams from similar positions at West Coast and Essendon, the 2006 premiership coach said the Eagles would be paid back for the on-field pain they are going through now if they stick to their plan under new coach Andrew McQualter.

"You need to be switched on to where you want to get to as a team, and he (McQualter) knows what that looks like and how he wants the team to play," Worsfold told AFL.com.au.

"He is putting the building blocks in place now and learning about who is going to fill the roles that he needs filled to achieve playing his game plan to perfection.

"That's all going to take time, and you'll see some experimenting and giving players opportunities and measuring them. But it's staying focused on what you're building towards.

"What I do know is that the next West Coast team that is playing finals footy … there'll be a lot of players playing in that team that are currently on our list.

"People may not see them as being at that level now, but in a few years' time we're confident they will be."

John Worsfold speaks during Adam Hunter's funeral in Bunbury. Picture: AFL Photos

Worsfold said the Eagles were now in a position similar to 2010 when the club won four games and collected the wooden spoon before bouncing in 2011 after getting games into key youngsters like Luke Shuey, Nic Naitanui, Brad Sheppard, Josh Kennedy, Chris Masten, Jack Darling and Andrew Gaff.

While a similar bounce for West Coast next season appears improbable after recent performances and without senior players in form, Worsfold said the club was not planning on a prolonged period at the bottom of the ladder.

"I think the progression slowed down a little bit because it's a new coach, but people will start to see it throughout hopefully the latter half of this season and definitely into next year," Worsfold said.

"They'll get a clear picture of where the squad is at and how it's taking shape.

"Fans feel like they've heard the same spiel over the last three years, and this is the fourth year of really battling and they haven't seen the results.

"But when it clicks, it'll come pretty quick. So that's what we'll be working towards."

Worsfold highlighted the injury-interrupted starts to their careers of first-round picks Campbell Chesser and Elijah Hewett, with the club confident both will get the chance to prove their talent.

He was also bullish on last year's pick No.16 Bo Allan playing a prominent role, while other recruiting moves "over the next 18 months or so" would accelerate the Eagles' planned climb.

Bo Allan and John Worsfold at the AFL Draft at Marvel Stadium, November 20, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

Asked how the club had reflected on the Carlton loss, Worsfold said it was clear the Eagles had selected a "development midfield" that could only compete to a certain level given its average age and experience.

Jack Hutchinson (23, nine games), Tom Gross (18, two games) and Clay Hall (19, six games) attended the most centre bounces of the Eagles' midfielders after Tim Kelly was dropped and Harley Reid and Liam Duggan were moved behind the ball.

"The easiest decision for 'Mini' last week would have been to leave 'TK' (Kelly) in, but he was strong on the way he wants to develop his team and what he's looking for from everyone," Worsfold said.

"He made that call, which did take a lot of courage because it meant we were going in very young, and it was going to be tough.

"But he's very keen to have a squad of players who believe in where they want to go together, and I haven't seen him waver."

Andrew McQualter during West Coast's match against GWS in R4, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

In his second stint as a senior coach, Worsfold took charge of an Essendon team in 2016 that was reeling from the club's supplements saga, with players signed on temporary one-year contracts to cover for suspended Bombers.

The club banked an early win against Melbourne that year but went on to lose 17 straight games before collecting two more late wins.

It's a period the former coach said he had reflected on recently, with lessons coming out of that period that could help West Coast in 2025.

"That squad of players were only going to be together for one year and the word was 'you'll struggle to win a game'," Worsfold said.

"But their attitude was that this may be a really tough year, and we may not have many wins, but we want to work hard and get better and have fun while we're doing it.

"What I'm seeing here with this club at the moment is that we have to understand there's a lot of hard work ahead and we're going to join together and challenge each other.

"It's not fun when you are in this position, but you can enjoy doing the hard work. Every training session we do at the moment is going to have an impact on how well we perform in the future."

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