Fresh off signing a contract extension, West Coast young gun Oscar Allen has credited champion goalkicker Josh Kennedy’s mentorship for guiding him through the start of his AFL career.
Allen this week put pen to paper in a major positive for the Eagles ahead of their clash with Essendon on Saturday night.
Already rated by many as one of the most exciting young talls in the competition, the 22-year-old has shown his immense value this year switching between a variety of roles.
Despite spending time in defence and the ruck as required by the team, Allen has already kicked 20 goals this campaign – equalling his career-best for a season – including a bag of five majors against Collingwood in round five.
Allen’s long-term future appears to be as Kennedy’s successor at full-forward and he said the two-time Coleman medallist has been instrumental passing on his vast experiences, including being part of the famous Chris Judd trade in 2007.
“Just playing a similar position to him and I suppose we had a little bit of a similar start to our careers; he didn’t play a lot early at Carlton,” Allen said.
“Obviously he was under a lot of pressure – probably more pressure than I can understand – when he came over here and he handled it really, really well.
“He’s someone you can look up to because he’s been through all the highs and lows of AFL footy.”
Allen grew up supporting West Coast and the emerging leader was thrilled to remain with the club he loves until at least the end of 2025.
“Absolutely. It’s something we’ve probably been working towards for a little bit of time but really stoked it’s out of the way and now I can just focus on playing good footy,” he said.
“It was pretty much always Eagles (for me). I grew up in Perth and have loved the club ever since I was a kid.
“All I wanted to do is play for the Eagles long-term and to be able to achieve that goal has been unbelievable for me.”
Allen spoke to reporters on Thursday afternoon sporting a much-talked-about protective cast on his right arm, which the West Perth product is growing accustomed to using on a daily basis for the time being due to a sore elbow.
“It’s a little bit restrictive. It’s probably a little bit over the top,” Allen said with a smile.
“The club’s really good, our (strength and conditioning) staff are amazing, they just want to make sure they minimise risk as much as possible, whether it’s just grabbing a car door handle and something happens where it’s not in the right place but for me it’s in a really good position.
“I don’t notice it when I’m playing.”
Coming off a stinging loss to the Giants, West Coast is set to host a buoyant Essendon in Sir Doug Nicholls Round, with the Bombers riding high following a 72-point triumph over North Melbourne and seven-point win over Fremantle.
“They’re a good young side. They’ve got a lot of top-end draft picks from last year and a couple of years prior who are playing some good footy,” Allen said.
“We’ve got to prepare for them at their best and when they’re at their best we know how offensive and attacking they can be, so we’re looking forward to it.”
