WEST Coast has confirmed it will make a formal application for draft assistance after holding initial talks with the AFL about its recent plight, with the club facing the prospect of a one-win season.
The Eagles are on track to collect their second wooden spoon in three years and have been weighing up whether to seek list help from the AFL after winning 11 games across the past four seasons.
Chief executive Don Pyke said the club's extended run at the bottom of the ladder had put it in the same bracket as clubs that had received draft assistance, including North Melbourne and Gold Coast.
He said the compromised nature of this year's draft would only make it harder for the Eagles to rebuild, with their second selection – outside any compensation picks – likely to be pushed into the 30s for the third straight time, despite finishing in the bottom three.
"We'll have those discussions and look to proceed with some sort of request," Pyke told SEN on Wednesday.
"As disappointing as it is, we are where we are, and with the draft as compromised as it's been we feel like we can benefit from some assistance to get ourselves out of where we've been.
"We find ourselves right in the position where, if you apply it across clubs who have recently received assistance, we're well and truly in the window for that."
The Kangaroos were the last club to receive an assistance package when the AFL allocated it three end-of-first-round selections across the 2023 and 2024 drafts and extra rookie list spots.
The club had completed four consecutive seasons in the bottom two when it received that assistance, winning 12 games across that period, including a worst season of 2-20 in 2022.
They were also granted assistance at the end of 2022, receiving a second-round pick and third-round pick for 2023 that needed to be traded for at least one player.
The Eagles have won 11 games across the past four seasons and collected a wooden spoon in 2023, with the club now stuck three-and-a-half games behind 17th-placed North Melbourne.
Pyke said the Eagles would discuss several different options for assistance, not just an extra pick at the pointy end of the draft.
Extra list spots or an ability to pre-sign Next Generation Academy or father-son players without having to match bids would be a useful part of any assistance package for the club.
Academy prospects for the Eagles this year include classy goalkicker Wes Walley, small forward Tylah Williams and midfielder/forward Koby Evans, while tall midfielder Charlie Banfield is the son of club great and dual premiership player Drew Banfield.
