The

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football ...

are an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

team based in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia. The

2022 AFL Women's season The 2022 AFL Women's season was the sixth season of the AFL Women's competition, the highest-level senior women's Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season was the last to feature 14 clubs, ran from 7 January until 9 April ...

, which started in January 2021, is their third season in the competition. At the end of the 2021 season, West Coast delisted 10 players, gained a player via trade, a player via restricted free agency and five players at the

2021 AFL Women's draft The 2021 AFL Women's draft consists of the various periods when the 14 clubs in the AFL Women's competition can recruit players prior to the competition's 2022 season. Special assistance In May 2021, just before the draft period began, the AF ...

. 2021 coach Daniel Pratt was replaced with

Michael Prior Michael Prior (born 6 September 1973) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the AFL's Essendon Football Club and the West Coast Eagles. He is currently serving as the senior coach of in the AFL Women's competition. Drafte ...

, after Pratt resigned from the role.

Background

The

are an

team based in

, Western Australia, that competes in the

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 1 ...

(AFLW). In the

2021 AFL Women's season The 2021 AFL Women's season was the fifth season of the AFL Women's competition, the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia. The season featured fourteen clubs, ran from 28 January until 17 April, and comprised ...

, they finished the season with two wins and seven losses, placing them 12th on the ladder out of 14 teams, and thus missing out on playing in the 2021 finals series. In September 2021, it was announced that

would take over as head coach from Daniel Pratt, as Pratt's partner was scheduled to give birth early 2022, and they didn't want him to do any quarantine that could occur in the AFLW.

Emma Swanson Emma Swanson (born 27 February 1995) is an Australian rules footballer and the captain of the West Coast Eagles (AFL Women's), West Coast Eagles in the AFL Women's competition. Amateur career Swanson is originally from Mandurah, Western Austra ...

was captain for a third season, and

Dana Hooker Dana Hooker (born 23 January 1991) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the West Coast Eagles in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She previously played for the Fremantle Football Club from 2017 to 2019. Hooker is a dual AFL Women's All-Austra ...

was vice-captain for a third season. Parris Laurie was part of the leadership group for a second season, joined by

Aisling McCarthy Aisling Louise McCarthy (born 24 February 1996) is an Irish Australian rules footballer playing for Fremantle Football Club, Fremantle in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She became an Australian citizen in July 2022. Early life From Cahir, Cahir, Coun ...

, who joined the leadership group for the first time. These positions were decided by a vote between the players.

Playing list

Changes

During the off-season, Mhicca Carter, Beatrice Devlyn, McKenzie Dowrick,

Brianna Green Brianna Green (born 20 November 1996) is an Australian rules footballer playing for West Coast in the AFL Women's competition. Green was drafted by Fremantle with their second selection and thirteenth overall in the 2016 AFL Women's draft ...

Alicia Janz Alicia Janz (born 25 May 1990) is a former Australian rules football and netball player who played in the AFL Women's competition and ANZ Championship. Early life Janz was born in Katherine, Northern Territory to a Papua New Guinean and Torre ...

, Demi Liddle, Julie-Anne Norrish, Kate Orme,

Chantella Perera Chantella Perera (born 7 June 1986) is an Australian rules footballer who played for West Coast in the AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The firs ...

and Katelyn Pope were delisted. In May 2021, the AFL commission approved giving five AFLW clubs, including West Coast, various assistance measures to help strengthen their playing list. West Coast received

priority draft pick The priority draft pick is a type of draft selection in the Australian Football League's AFL Draft. Priority draft picks are additional draft picks, located at or near the start of the draft, which are given only to the poorest performing teams, ...

s in the second and third rounds of the 2021 draft, directly after the fifth selection in those rounds. The priority picks were given under the condition that West Coast's first five draft picks were not traded to another club. During the 2021 trade period, West Coast made one trade, with . The Eagles received Fremantle player Evangeline Gooch in exchange for draft pick 38. West Coast also signed

Aimee Schmidt Aimee Schmidt (born 16 April 1993) is an Australian rules footballer playing for West Coast in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. She previously played for Greater Western Sydney. AFLW career Schmidt was drafted by Greater Western Sydney with ...

as a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

, having grown up in Western Australia before playing for for five years. In the

, teams were only allowed to pick from a pool of players in their state. West Coast held the first three out of four draft picks in Western Australia, with Fremantle holding the second in the state. West Coast ended up drafting Charlie Thomas (pick 3),

Courtney Rowley Courtney is a name of Old French origin, introduced into England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It has two quite distinct interpretations: firstly, the surname may be locational, from places called Courtenay in the regions of Loiret and Gât ...

(pick 21), Beth Schilling (pick 24), Sarah Lakay (pick 40) and Emily Bennett (pick 47).

Statistics

Season summary

The

started in January 2021, ended in March 2022, and had 10 rounds.

Results

Ladder

References

{{2022 AFL Women's season 7 West Coast Eagles seasons

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...