Their AFL season ended in disaster but West Coast’s premiership window is still well and truly open – even if they miss out on landing Geelong star Tim Kelly.
The Eagles’ flag defence came to an abrupt end last Friday night when they suffered a 20-point semi-final loss to Geelong.
Willie Rioli’s ASADA drama two days before the game rattled West Coast players and will continue to haunt the club for months.
But what really sunk West Coast’s 2019 flag hopes was the final-round loss to Hawthorn in Perth, which cost the Eagles a prized top-four berth.
From that point on it was always going to be a bridge too far to go -back-to-back but the Eagles are well placed to bounce back strongly next year.
Wingman Chris Masten has already been delisted and a decision needs to be made on out-of-contract defender Will Schofield.
The Eagles will be holding out hope that Kelly will join them via a blockbuster trade.
To have Kelly, Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo and Andrew Gaff roaming at the feet of ruckman Nic Naitanui would send fear throughout the rest of the competition.
But even if Kelly doesn’t arrive, West Coast still boast a list powerful enough to challenge for the flag.
Naitanui managed just five games this season because of knee and ankle issues.
But in those games he proved he is still one of the best ruckmen in the competition, and he has the potential to transform West Coast into a powerhouse next year if he can avoid the dreaded injury curse.
Spearhead Josh Kennedy is starting to show signs of wear and tear.
But with Oscar Allen and Jake Waterman both finding form, the Eagles possess players capable of filling the void if Kennedy is either injured or drops completely out of form next year.
West Coast are almost certain to be without Rioli for all of next season – a huge blow that is not easy to overcome.
Rioli’s absence will put more pressure on fellow indigenous star Liam Ryan to perform, and also pave the way for Jack Petruccelle to nail down a permanent berth.
Eagles coach Adam Simpson said he was disappointed to see his team bounced out in the semi-finals this year.
But he didn’t see the season as a waste, pointing to the individual improvements made by a number of players on the list, as well as others who made their debuts and could press for more game time in 2020.
There will be no premiership hangover for West Coast to contend with next year and anything less than a top-four finish should be rated as a let down.