West Coast captain Luke Shuey concedes his group weren’t match sufficient final season, however says the group at the moment are in the perfect form since successful the 2018 flag.
The Eagles gained simply two video games in 2022 as mass accidents and COVID disruptions wreaked a heavy toll on the membership.
The health of the group was additionally blamed for the horror on-field outcomes, with gamers akin to Elliot Yeo and Nic Naitanui copping the heaviest exterior criticism.
Shuey addressed queries about final yr’s health requirements head-on when he fronted the media on Wednesday, saying it had been a significant point of interest for the membership through the low season.
“Yeah, when there’s smoke there’s fire,” Shuey mentioned.
“A lot of people externally were calling us unfit last year. They probably weren’t completely off the mark with that suggestion.
“Once we did our review, we were also going to figure out what we needed to get better at, and you can’t do anything unless you’re fit in this game.
“So our first step over the off-season was making sure we came back in good shape.”
West Coast are being broadly tipped to complete close to the underside of the ladder this yr, however Shuey is quietly optimistic about what the group can obtain.
“I think (we are) certainly fitter than the last four or five years, no doubt,” Shuey mentioned.
“Our strength and conditioning staff did a hell of a job putting together a program that was different to years gone by.
“The playing group was certainly more driven. There were more numbers training together each week.”
Shuey was 20 years outdated when West Coast collected the picket spoon in 2010.
The Eagles rebounded by making the preliminary last the next yr.
Shuey says the latest examples of Sydney and Collingwood bouncing again from close to the foot of the desk had additionally buoyed hope of a fast turnaround.
“For different reasons we weren’t competitive last year, and that was a rollercoaster of emotions at different times – embarrassing, disappointing, angry, frustrated,” Shuey mentioned.
“For some of these young boys coming through, there was no harsher introduction than last year. They’ll learn from that and they’ll play plenty of footy for the footy club over the years to come.
“It’s a similar start that some of us had in 2009-10 when we copped the wooden spoon. I guess it’s a blessing in disguise if you get exposed to that at a young age.
“You realise how tough AFL footy can be. It’s not all beer and skittles and those guys are hopefully in for a few more successful years than last year.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
