The backdrop to the launch of the 2020 season was one of great uncertainty as the tentacles of COVID-19 began to spread to Australia.

At a time of great optimism and excitement at the West Coast Eagles the club was hit hard by the pandemic.

Its foray into the AFLW competition was cut short as the decision to abruptly end the club’s debut season was made out of headquarters. Just six games into a scheduled eight-match season the tough call was made to terminate the qualifying rounds.

While an attempt was made to complete the finals series that, too, was forlorn and no premier was anointed.

The fledgling Eagles manufactured one win from their first season, an epic victory against the highly touted Western Bulldogs at Leederville Oval.

At the same time that the women’s season came to a most unfortunate close the men’s competition was taking tentative steps towards its scheduled start. A couple of hours before the first bounce against Melbourne at Optus Stadium, league boss Gil McLachlan held a media conference announcing the competition would go into immediate and indefinite recess.

It was, to say the least, an unusual backdrop to a season opener, that Eagles ultimately won by 27 points before the competition shut down for three months.

As players prepared for a re-start this truncated season they were permitted to train only in small groups, with no contact and mostly away from the club’s facility. When the competition eventually resumed (on June 13) the Eagles were based in a hub at the Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast.

Their round two match was against the Suns at Metricon Stadium and the Eagles were humbled by their hosts. They would also fall to Brisbane and Port Adelaide as they struggled to adjust to life in isolation 4500km from home.

Eventually they did settle, winning successive games against Sydney and Adelaide before a stretch of games at Optus Stadium. They won eight matches on the trot to move into contention, before another stint in a Queensland hub.

The last five rounds produced mixed results, although there as an epic victory against St Kilda at the Gabba in the penultimate round (17). The Eagles were without experienced players Jamie Cripps, Lewis Jetta, Jack Redden, Dom Sheed, Brad Sheppard and Elliot Yeo but manufactured a pulsating 15-point triumph.

They finished up their second sojourn to south-east Queensland with a win over North Melbourne to earn a home elimination final against Collingwood. Unfortunately, the Pies were superior and won an enthralling battle by seven points to end a testing season.