AFL Six Points: We know the Eagles have been bad, but this bad?!

The ESPN Footy Podcast crew question whether the moribund Eagles merit a priority pick, or if their fate is justified due to poor list management. (2:41)

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Each week of the 2025 AFL season, ESPN.com.au's Jake Michaels looks at six talking points.

This week's Six Points features the historically awful Eagles, some criticism of both Champion Data and the umpiring fraternity, as well as a pair of ridiculous Fremantle and Kysaiah Pickett stats.

1. Why we should be very worried about West Coast

It seems every few weeks the lowly Eagles draw unwanted comparisons to the likes of Fitzroy and University as a historically awful football team. It makes sense, given they have won just 11 games in four seasons and are now all but certain to collect another wooden spoon.

This year, West Coast ranks dead last in 12 of Champion Data's 32 key premiership standard metrics and bottom three in 24 of them. They average just 65 points per game and concede a whopping 102. But just how bad are they in comparison to the league's previous long-time cellar dwellers? The answers are worrying.

READ: Does West Coast deserve a priority pick?

Should the Eagles not win again this season (which, let's face it, is quite likely) they would become just the 22nd team in league history to win no more than 11 games in a four year stretch. It hasn't happened since Fitzroy in 1961-1964!

On the flip side, they are on track to set a new mark for most losses in a four year period. West Coast currently has 75 losses since the beginning of 2022, just two short of the North Melbourne record of 77 set between 2021-2024. Even closing the season 2-3 would break that unwanted record.

FACT: West Coast has not kicked 110 points in a game since Round 7, 2021.

The Eagles also have the worst four-year percentage of any side in 60 years and are two more 50+ point losses away from suffering the most in a four-year period in league history.

We all knew it has been grim, but I don't think we've truly grasped just how bad it is and will continue to be.

The Eagles have hit a new low in season 2025. Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

2. Sorry, Champion Data. I just cannot understand this

Let me preface this one by saying I have great admiration for Champion Data and the tireless work it does. For almost a decade I've worked closely with them, using their stats daily to help make sense of the game. But on Monday morning I learned of something it had done, or rather something one of its algorithms had spat out, that was simply indefensible.

According to Champion Data's rating points metric, Port Adelaide ruck Jordon Sweet played the best game of Round 19. It was also ranked as the 10th best game anyone has played this season! Sweet had 22 disposals, 19 contested possessions, 10 clearances, 42 hitouts, and kicked a goal. However, he only used the ball at 54% efficiency and turned it over five times. Still, a fair game, but the best of the weekend? Give me a break.

There's just no way you can tell me, or attempt to convince me, that Sweet's game was better than Isaac Heeney's. The Sydney star enjoyed one of the most dominant outings in recent memory on Saturday afternoon, tallying 34 disposals, 16 contested possessions, 13 clearances, nine inside 50s, 11 score involvements, and FIVE goals in a win over the Kangaroos. And yet his rating points fell short -- albeit only just -- of Sweet's mark.

I've enquired with Champion Data and they have kindly explained how both players' rating points were calculated. But I'm still not convinced one iota.

JORDON SWEET VS. ISAAC HEENEY (R19 RATING POINTS) JORDON SWEET ISAAC HEENEY BALL USE 3.44 21.87 BALL WINNING 19.79 7.72 DEFENCE 4.17 1.75 RUCK WORK 5.54 0.00 NEGATIVES -1.91 -0.56 TOTAL 31.03 30.78

3. Oh boy! Yet another umpiring howler

If you happened to be watching the clash between the Magpies and Dockers on Sunday afternoon and were left dumbfounded by one particular umpiring decision, just know you're not alone.

Let's all rewatch the sequence:

"That's just ridiculous, selective umpiring."

A 50-metre penalty was paid against Karl Worner for this action | #AFLPiesFreo pic.twitter.com/7ag28uMQVB — 7AFL (@7AFL) July 20, 2025

Fremantle's Karl Worner gave away a 50m penalty for umpire dissent, ultimately costing his side a goal, but I've watched this clip about 15 times and still cannot spot any dissent whatsoever. Not only that, but we haven't seen a 50m penalty paid for umpire dissent in months. This just wasn't the moment to bring it back.

Honestly, it was as if umpire John Howorth come out of a two-year coma and missed the memo to ease up on the umpire dissent sensitivity.

4. What are the five biggest modern day rivalries?

In honour of this weekend's unofficial rivalry round, I thought it was an opportune time to revisit my list of footy's biggest modern day rivalries. I'm talking about the rivalries of today, not what your grandpa bangs on about from back in the 1960s. Here are my top five, in order:

5 - CARLTON VS. MELBOURNE - Seven of the last nine games have been decided by eight or fewer points. And don't forget the epic semifinal they played in 2023!

4 - CARLTON VS. COLLINGWOOD - This one is both a traditional and modern day rivalry, routinely drawing 80,000+. The hate each other like cats and dogs and that always makes for box office viewing.

3 - PORT ADELAIDE VS. HAWTHORN - Ken Hinkley. Jack Ginnivan. James Sicily. Finals. What more needs to be said?

2 - SYDNEY VS. GWS - A newer rivalry, but one that has blossomed thanks to a number of epic finals battles. It always helps being cross-town rivals who love a barb on social media.

1 - ADELAIDE VS. PORT ADELAIDE - Still head and shoulders clear of the rest. Pardon the cliche, but it truly doesn't matter where they are on the ladder; there's just nothing like a showdown.

Is there a better rivalry in football than the Showdown? Mark Brake/Getty Images

5. Something quirky I noticed

This was brought to my attention by my esteemed colleague Matt Walsh and I'm still not sure how he stumbled across it!

It turns out Fremantle has never lost on July 20. Never. Now, the win over Collingwood on Sunday afternoon was only the sixth time they had played on July 20, but still, it's an unblemished record.

It got me wondering what the all-time record for most wins on a particular day of the year was. Turns out both Sydney and Geelong have 7-0 records on April 6 and April 9, respectively. And how about Collingwood, an incredible 13-1 record when playing on August 6.

6. My favourite stat of the week

Kysaiah Pickett continues to make a strong case he should be rewarded with a maiden All-Australian blazer in 2025. Against the Blues on Saturday night, Pickett had 23 disposals, 11 score involvements, and kicked five goals.

It was the third time this season Pickett finished a game with at least 20 disposals and five goals, the first Melbourne player to achieve the feat in a single year. In fact, only six players in recorded history have managed it at least four times in a season. Here's the full list:

- LANCE FRANKLIN (2012, six times)

- BRAD JOHNSON (2006, five times)

- STEVE JOHNSON (2010, four times)

- MATTHEW RICHARDSON (1999, four times)

- MATTHEW LLOYD (2000, four times)

- WAYNE CAREY (2000, four times)

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