Nathan Buckley has heaped reward on fit-again Eagles huge man Oscar Allen, declaring that by season’s finish he’ll be ‘in the conversation with the best forwards in the game’.
Allen, 23, booted two objectives for the Eagles of their match simulation win over Port Adelaide on Friday evening as he places behind him a horror 2022 season marred the place he didn’t function because of a foot damage.
The retirement of two-time Coleman medallist Josh Kennedy and an ankle damage to Jack Darling this pre-season means Allen enters the marketing campaign with lofty expectations.
Collingwood champion Nathan Buckley heaped reward on the younger ahead, saying Allen’s return is “worth multiple wins”.
“I think he’s an out-and-out star. I reckon to miss last year, everything went wrong for West Coast, to see that squad and see them win only two games of footy… it made no sense at all,” Buckley informed SEN.
“I can only imagine the scrutiny they would have been under over there, but Adam Simpson has such credits as a coach and the way he carries himself, I’m an admirer from afar, he needed to somehow cobble and pull that club together.
“At the end of this season, I believe (Allen) will be in the conversation with the best forwards in the game.
“I think at his best he’ll win multiple All-Australian berths. You need to be on some good service at the end of that.
“He’s 6 foot 6, he’s 97 kilograms, I think he’s got real aggression in the air, he’s smart on the ground, he’s a smart player.
“I think he’s going to be one that really comes through this year as an unexpected gun of the competition.”
Fellow analyst Kane Cornes tipped Allen to hit the bottom operating this 12 months and kick between 40 to 45 objectives.
“I think he’s an A-grader. I was a little bit critical of the way West Coast used him in the 2021 season, (when) he was a stop-gap,” Cornes mentioned.
“He’s had such a presence as a forward, but because of Darling and Kennedy and injuries they had to key position players in the ruck and back, they moved him all around the place. I just thought it stifled his development a little bit.
“But there were points there where he looked like the best young key forward in the game, so hopefully the service is there for him. I think he can kick 40 to 45 (goals) this year, which would be a significant result.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
