In elite sport it is unusual for a club to put its core product on hold to focus on another element of its operations. But that was the situation for the West Coast Eagles in 2008.

The club faced an extraordinary situation when player behaviour spiralled out of control and there was a recognition that the issue needed to be addressed. At the expense, if necessary, of winning games.

It was a precarious position. Aside from the highly-publicised battle of Ben Cousins, there were a number of other players who were engaged in disturbing off-field indiscretions.

While the club could boast, in 22 completed seasons, that it had been in the finals 17 times; that it had a strong financial base with 54,000 loyal and passionate members; that it had strong community and grass roots football connections, it also had issues.

They were damaging the reputation of the football club, undermining the club’s drive to compete successfully in the demanding world of elite footy.  

The 2008 season was the time to reflect on the issues that buffeted the organisation and caused the club and its community considerable difficulty and pain.

In response, to the issues, the Board called for an independent external review into the club. The review was initiated to probe into the environment, culture and administration of a club that was facing almost daily media and public scrutiny over its troubled playing group.

The Board appointed former MP Hendy Cowan and Steve Scudamore, a managing director of KPMG in Perth to conduct a thorough review of the club.

The Eagles had already instituted a range of internal changes during 2007, including the establishment of a core values committee and the establishment of leadership programs. A key driver of these initiatives was former SAS Commander, James McMahon, who was seconded to the Board.

The AFL Commission also ordered an inquiry into West Coast, with regards bringing the competition into disrepute.

The investigation was headed by Justice Bill Gillard and ultimately cleared the Eagles of the charge and acknowledged that it had taken steps to address the serious issues which enveloped it.

With so much attention on the off-field structure and processes of West Coast it is little wonder it could not pull things together off-field. The club could win only four games to finish in 15^th position, with Melbourne sitting below it on the premiership table.

It started badly when Mitch Brown required a knee reconstruction as a result of an incident in a practice game against Collingwood in Albany and never really improved through the course of the campaign.

Brett Jones, who was in outstanding form in the first half of the year across half-back, managed only 14 games, Ashley Hansen (13), Daniel Kerr, Mark LeCras and Adam Hunter (11) all missed large portions of the season while it was worse for some others.

Matt Rosa and Beau Waters played only eight games, Josh Kennedy played seven senior matches, while Shannon Hurn (6) and Sam Butler (5) were expected to figure more prominently but were also caught in the injury scourge.

The absence of those players clearly hurt the performance, but the upside was that a number of young players who received their opportunity. In all, eight players made their AFL debut in season 2008, while Kennedy played his first game for the club after coming to us via the trade system.

High points in the season were rare, but Darren Glass, who assumed the mantle as captain in the absence of Chris Judd, albeit with some reluctance, and grew into the role. He would go on to become the second longest serving captain in West Coast history, behind the legendary Worsfold.

The home and away campaign started in a positive way, when the Eagles dispensed with Brisbane at Subiaco Oval. West Coast started with a bang, kicking six goals in the first quarter before holding off a Lions comeback to win by 16 points.

They then had to wait the best part of two months before tasting success again, this time eclipsing Adelaide by 50 points at Subiaco Oval, producing a stunning brand of football that show-cased the capacity within the group when they had their collective minds on the job.

This time it was St Kilda who were on the receiving end of some quality West Coast football, the Eagles kicking nine goals to six after half-time to chalk up a badly-needed 17-point win.

The final victory of the year came in round 19, this time edging past Essendon at home when young forward Ben McKinley gave an insight into his ability with a seven-goal haul. He finished with 42 goals for the year, one of the rare highlights.

It was a tough season, but there were still some outstanding individual efforts, with Dean Cox winning his first Club Champion Award. Despite a well-publicised battle with injury, where he was forced to manage a small fracture in his right foot, he maintained a high level of consistency and deserved the distinction.

For the fourth year in succession he was able to earn all-Australian selection even though he was unable to use his right foot at training at any stage after the injury he sustained in round three, but still managed to produce some quality football.

Quinten Lynch, another player who began his career on the rookie list, was asked to shoulder additional responsibility and after being our leading goal-kicker in the previous two seasons, and played much of his football as the support ruckman, through the midfield and even on a wing.

He took his football to another level and was rewarded by finishing runner-up in the Club Champion Award.