The Mini chat that manifested Eagles surge

Arguably, the surprise of the AFL season so far has been the form of the West Coast Eagles.

Borderline hopeless in 2025 with just one win in Andrew McQualter’s first campaign as senior coach, the Eagles have already snapped up two victories in 2026.

They’ve been rebuilding since falling to second bottom in 2022 and it’s been a hard and lonely road at the foot of the table.

But over the last few years they’ve been stockpiling some serious talent led by a pair of No.1 picks in Harley Reid and his less experienced colleague Willem Duursma.

Throw in the likes of Cooper Duff-Tytler (Pick 4 in 2025), Josh Lindsay (Pick 19 in 2025), Bo Allan (Pick 16 in 2024), Archer Reid (Pick 30 in 2023), and Jobe Shanahan - who already looks a steal at Pick 30 - there is a lot to like about the Eagles young’uns.

The 2026 season, after a shocking first half against Gold Coast, has started well. And it was a conversation with Garry Lyon on Origin weekend in February that 'Mini' McQualter manifested what we’re seeing in front of our very eyes.

“He just loved their picks from last year. He said Duursma is everything they hoped to have got out of him at this stage,” Lyon said at the time after returning from that Origin weekend in Perth.

“The big fella (Duff-Tytler) is a bit freakish. He said we love Jobe Shanahan.

“Harley has gone to the level he had to go to in terms of his preparations. He wouldn’t be surprised if Harley is an All-Australian at the end of the year.

“There’s some potential A-grade talent in amongst that. There’s something there for the Eagles, I reckon.”

Fast forward six weeks and the Eagles ave impressed with a pair of come-from-behind wins over North Melbourne and Port Adelaide.

While there is still plenty of improvement to come, Lyon believes the list management and recruiting department at the Eagles must be commended for the team they’re building.

Former Richmond list boss Matthew Clarke and recruiting manager Duane Massey have got the Eagles on the right path in Lyon’s eyes.

“The people who are identifying the talent and doing the picking are the most underrated,” Lyon said on SEN Breakfast on Tuesday morning.

“In amongst that is Tom McCarthy who they picked up in the mid-season draft last year and he’s just slotted in and become part of their first team. The talent identifiers are so critically important to what you’re doing.

“West Coast are on the right path.

“That conversation (with McQualter) was had back in February, that’s what they were feeling in the pre-season and in the early stages that is playing out.

“That has to be encouraging for the West Coast Eagles.”

The love for the Eagles extended to Tim Watson who has been heartened by what he has seen from the royal blue and gold so far, also praising the list build.

“They’re showing a grit about their performance that you don’t necessarily always see in young teams,” Watson said.

“At this stage it looks like they have chosen their talent particularly well.

“They’ve got two potential superstars in the midfield in Harley Reid and Willem Duursma. I think Duursma is going to be a superstar AFL talent on what we’ve seen so far.

“Jobe Shanahan looks like he is going to be somebody who can play forward or back. He’s got a great pair of hands. They’ve got Archer Reid (and Duff-Tytler).

“They look like they’ve identified a type of talent that is capable of playing the modern day brand of football. The tall players they’ve chosen are very good at ground level and they all see the game really clearly.”

Watson also wanted to point out the impact two former Tigers in Jack Graham and new co-captain Liam Baker have had since joining prior to the 2025 season.

“This guy has had no love whatsoever, Jack Graham has been fantastic this season for the Eagles,” Watson added.

“Liam Baker the same. They are the right type of players that you need to have around a young, developing team because of the way they play.

“That’s infectious to the rest of the group, it’s a great example, and they would be great role models and mentors inside the dressing room.

“Mini McQualter would have had a great look at them because he was at Richmond and would see them day in, day out. He knew the quality of player.

“But when there have been shifts in momentum in games those two players have been instrumental in the way they play their football.”

The ninth-placed Eagles, with a handy 2-1 record, next host Sydney at Optus Stadium on Saturday night as they strive to win three in a row for the first time since 2021.