ONE of the biggest highlights of the AFL Women’s season so far has been the debut of Daisy Pearce as the head coach of the West Coast Eagles.

Taking her team to a Round 1 victory over Richmond by a point, the Eagles were then bested in the second game by Essendon and Natalie Wood.

Prior to Pearce’s instalment as coach, West Coast had won seven games from five AFLW seasons, so along with Pearce, the decision was made to bring in ready-made and mature bodies to assist the development of their young crop.

The young Eagles

At its core, the West Coast Eagles have a very talent list, one which boasts young defenders Sophie McDonald, Zoe Wakfer, Georgie Cleaver, Charlotte Thomas and Beth Schilling.

While their engine room includes one of the best up-and-coming rucks, Sarah Lakay and her protege Lauren Wakfer who can even play as a fourth midfielder of sorts.

Their midfielders are exceptional, with Isabella Lewis and Ella Roberts who have paired with newcomer Jessica Rentsch. Courtney Rowley is also a talented midfielder to include, however she is still rehabilitating an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

The Eagles also have highly-touted forwards Amy Franklin and Roxanne Roux, both of which have not played in the same forwardline yet at West Coast.

The West Coast veterans

To help foster the development of such an exciting and young group, the decision was made at West Coast to bring in established and mature talent.

Bringing in Jess Hosking and Alison Drennan, they have found two players who have been influential with the team.

At her third club (Carlton and Richmond) after being drafted in 2016, Hosking brings 55 games worth of experience at the level, while Drennan has played one less game since 2019, across four clubs (North Melbourne, St. Kilda, Gold Coast and West Coast).

Speaking after the Eagles’ Round 1 win, Pearce spoke about the attributes that Hosking possessed which has made her a good fit.

“As soon as we realised ‘Hosko’ was available, we knew we wanted a bit of maturity and experience to help compliment our young list and we wanted someone who’s an unconditional competitor,” Pearce explained.

“[We wanted] to make sure on days like this and throughout the week when we are training that we can maintain a really high standard of competitiveness and ‘Hosko’ brings that and she also brings a great ability to connect our group in hard times and then in times like tonight.

“Aside from the goals she kicked, which she finished brilliantly under pressure and against her old side as well, [it’s] just her ability to compete.

“There was times Richmond had plus-two or plus-three defenders behind the ball and she just did enough to fight and scrap and get the ball on the ground which is trademark ‘Hosko’ really.

“The rest of our group just got involved behind her so I thought she really set the tone in that first quarter.”

When asked during the week after the Round 1 game, Pearce further elaborated on the impact that Drennan had week-to-week at West Coast.

“We brought them in to play really high-level football and play their role first and foremost, I think we speak about their experience and maturity and that kind of thing, but first and foremost we think that ‘Hosko’ and same with ‘Drenno’, their best footy is in front of them,” she continued.

“They are players that we want in our program and I think the weekend showed that with both of them, their ability to go out and play at a really high level, and then the influence they have on the rest of the group is undeniable as well.

“I mean ‘Drenno’s’ workrate is second to none so the standards she sets with her running capacity, her preparation, her hunger and will to want to improve. You can’t keep her out of this place, she’s constantly in here either asking coaches to help her out with things that she wants to keep developing or better still she’s bringing teammates in with her.

“She’s also helping them, so those kind of traits, setting the standard herself but bringing other people with her is what we thought we’d be getting with ‘Drenno’ and it’s what we’ve gotten.”

A rookie doing things differently

Signing with the Eagles on a rookie contract in the off-season, former netball star Verity Simmons is another key piece of the ‘Daisy effect’. A two-time premiership player at the West Coast Fever and the Queensland Firebirds prior to that, Simmons knows about elite sport and performance.

Having to get the best out of your own body and your teammates each game is something that runs across sport at any level, Simmons boasts this having played through 159 national league games, which includes three Australian Diamonds appearances.

Having never played a game of Australian rules football, Simmons was brought into the fold due to her experience and composure. Pearce spoke about her first game after she made her debut against Richmond.

“She just takes every challenge like the professional that she is, for what she doesn’t know about footy or didn’t have in terms of her footy skillset, we get someone who’s performed and competed at a high level, her entire life,” she said.

“She was good, I think she had seven tackles, and that could be said for a lot of our players and then with ball in hand, she’s done a lot of work on her kicking and skills, she made some really composed decisions and executed well as well.”

The statistics against Richmond

When you extrapolate their win against the Tigers, the statistics that stand out are the performances by the experienced players.

Forward Kellie Gibson is going to be an important part of Pearce’s team going forward as a reliable forward target and avenue to goal. She displayed this, keeping her cool and slotting the winning goal in Round 1.

Last year she had her best season after some injury-riddled seasons, kicking 12 goals and finishing as the Eagles’ leading goalkicker.

Hosking had 15 disposals and two goals herself, looking dominant and free against her former side. She also had six marks, five tackles and 253 metres gained.

Drennan had an all-round solid game collecting 18 touches, two marks, 10 tackles (the most on ground), five clearances and 234 metres gained. With Drennan and Hosking performing their roles for the side, it freed up their young midfielders to come into the game.

This performance was particularly impressive when considering they won without their new forward recruit in Roux, and without both the captain Emma Swanson, and young gun midfielder Rowley. Swanson will benefit particularly from some help in the middle having to carry quite a load herself at times.

How they play under Daisy

In the game against Richmond, it was obvious that the two sides were pretty evenly matched. It was mainly a period of time at the end of the game that set up the loss for the Tigers. Two 50-metre penalties were given up as well as a crucial free kick that swung the game against them.

All night both teams were relentless in their pressure and although the Eagles possessed less of the ball (198 disposals to 217), they recorded just as many tackles (63 to 65).

They also took just as many marks (27 to 30) as the Tigers, although only three were taken in the forward 50 compared to Richmond’s seven which showed they had more aerial presence which isn’t a surprise considering the smaller forwards at the Eagles.

So in short, the Eagles’ workrate and discipline got them the win against a side that possessed the ball more, had more shots on goal and was more of an aerial threat. The Tigers were not as efficient inside forward 50, which speaks to something they need to work on.

When looking at the performance against the Bombers, it was clear that the Eagles were behind from the get-go. They had less disposals by far (237 to 213) as well as eight less inside 50s for the game.

Not only did they not have as many shots at goal or inside 50s, but they were also less efficient than Essendon across the ground too. Comparing the teams in the midfield battle, the Eagles were pretty evenly matched with their opponents having one fewer clearance at stoppages, two less centre clearances and one less hit-out.

Although the Eagles were working hard to contain the Bombers, Essendon worked harder, laying 12 more tackles inside their forward 50, which essentially locked the ball in West Coast’s defensive half.

So the secret to Daisy’s style of play is pressure, both in the form of tackles inside their forward 50 and across the ground. But it is also the ability to equalise the midfield battle, something that their new recruits demonstrated in the Round 1 game before being neutralised in the game against Essendon.

How they’ve improved under Daisy

When considering all statistics in 2023, the Eagles were beaten in all areas of the game apart from turnovers. They recorded 17 more when comparing them to their opponents.

They have been cleaner with ball in hand this season, having just three turnovers more than their opponents after two games.

The main statistic that the Eagles have improved on is their tackling. They were minus 64 tackles across the 10 games last season, whereas this season they have had nearly the same amount as their opponents.

The Eagles still average around twenty disposals less than their opponents, however their ability to get it back through marking and tackling is clearly an intent instilled at the club.