The writing was on the wall early and not even the strongest of graffiti remover could erase it.

The Eagles were hit by a spate of injuries from the outset and it was compounded by a heavy hit from the pandemic. When the club drew up a list of covid contingency players from the WAFL in the pre-season it never really expected to draw on those resources.

Two rounds in and five of those players were required to field a team against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium. If it hadn’t been so heart-wrenching it would have been humorous.

It was unprecedented as the Eagles called on former player Brayden Ainsworth, West Perth veteran Aaron Black, Subiaco defender Angus Dewar and former Fremantle forward Stefan Giro to play against the Roos. Then, to add another twist to this bizarre story, Jackson Nelson complained of knee soreness in the warm up.

Claremont captain Declan Mountford, who travelled as the emergency, was on his way up to a club viewing box when summoned to the dressing room and was asked to prepare to replace Nelson and take on his former teammates.

The Eagles had 12 players who succumbed to the pandemic including key forward Josh Kennedy, key defender Tom Barrass, midfielder Jack Redden and ruckman Nic Naitanui. Other important players like Oscar Allen, Elliot Yeo, Dom Sheed, Andrew Gaff and Jamie Cripps were all battling long-term injuries.

That they lost by just 15 points was remarkable and testament to the resilience in the group, but that game proved symptomatic of the year.

A fortnight later, against Collingwood at the same venue, the season reached its apex as far as the club was concerned. Despite on-going issues with low availability they somehow manufactured a victory against the Magpies, who would become one of the captivating stories of the season.

Under new coach Craig McRae they played a bold brand and surged all the way to a preliminary final against Sydney, which they lost by a solitary behind.

For the Eagles, success was tasted in just one other game when they beat Essendon by 10 points at Optus Stadium in a spirited round 15 performance. It was otherwise forgettable save for a few individual highlights.

The pick of those moments came when Josh Kennedy, in his farewell game against Adelaide, kicked eight goals in a stellar performance. The Eagles still lost the game, but more than 50,000 of the club’s faithful members and fans crammed into the venue to see him off.

The Eagles finished just one percent ahead of North to avoid the ‘wooden spoon.’

The AFLW crammed two seasons into one year which proved a drain on both players and staff at either end of the calendar.

The first of those 10-round competitions saw the Eagles win just once, against St Kilda at Barker Oval in Melbourne but they again had to contend with more than a few obstacles. With the pandemic still a major impediment they were forced into a Melbourne hub for a month which was more than problematic.

Many of the players needed to draw on annual leave from their day jobs to participate and it tested their resolve. The victory over the Saints came in that period, as did a courageous effort against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium when they fell a couple of points shy of a memorable triumph.

There were two victories in 2022 MkII, opening with an exciting triumph over ‘new’ franchise Port Adelaide and later conquering GWS at Giants Stadium. Remarkably, durable captain Emma Swanson was crowned Club Champion in each of the 2022 seasons.