March 17, 2022
I hope you are staying well, as COVID-19 continues to affect all of us in one way or another.
And now, here we are at round one of the 2022 Toyota AFL Premiership Season – it will be a tough season, but Adam, his coaching team, and the players are determined to play hard and take on the challenges of the season as strongly as they would in any other year.
Your loyalty and support are so important to the club and the playing group, and I know you will get behind the team again this season, starting with our first match against the Gold Coast Suns on Sunday at 4.40pm (AWST) at Optus Stadium.
Although the venue is limited to 50% patron capacity for now, there are still tickets available, so if you’re in Western Australia and able to get to the match, please consider coming along – it’s not too late to change your mind and be there for the start of the season!
Premiership player, Tom Barrass is in line to play his 100th game on Sunday, a wonderful achievement for a player who has overcome some injury challenges during his career and become an integral member of our backline.
It’s no secret that our current injury list is the most extensive we have experienced, and we will be without some senior players as well as new recruits, and others in between, for at least the start of the season.
With the unexpected retirement of Brad Sheppard, one remaining vacant rookie list position, and the movement of Campbell Chesser and Tom Cole to the inactive list, we are pleased to have signed four talented players through the Supplemental Selection Period, to help strengthen the ranks.
We’re excited to have Hugh Dixon, Tom Joyce, Patrick Naish and Luke Strnadica on board, and I’m sure they will take advantage of every opportunity presented to them during the season.
On a practical level, even though the pandemic hasn’t ended, matches will no longer be rescheduled if players are unavailable due to AFL’s COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols, and yesterday we confirmed (in accordance with the Protocol guidelines) a list of 20 ‘COVID contingency’ players drawn from the WAFL competition, including our WAFL Eagles.
The rules around selecting and using these players are somewhat complex; however, combined with our significant injury list, it will be really important to be able to draw on this group when a number of our listed players are unable to take the field due to the protocols.
Our season in the NAB AFLW Competition has come to an end and, although the on-field results weren’t what we wanted, I’m looking forward to celebrating the season at our AFLW Club Champion Awards tomorrow night. We’ve already had a couple of players announce their retirements, and the usual end of season reviews are currently taking place. I’ll update you on more AFLW team news later this month.
GO EAGLES!
Kind regards,
Trevor Nisbett
