West Coast Eagles shake tag as AFL’s worst team after consecutive upset victories

West Coast are set to escape the AFL’s bottom four for the first time in half a decade, according to bookmakers, with the Eagles finally shaking the tag of the league’s worst team after a pair of stirring victories.

Optimism around last year’s wooden spooners is high on the back of victories against North Melbourne and Port Adelaide in the space of a week, doubling their win tally from the entirety of last year.

Entering 2026 having won just 11 games in the past four seasons, the Eagles were predicted by many to struggle again in 2026, considered by bookmakers being the second-most likely side behind Richmond to finish last.

But West Coast have gone from $3.50 to finish last to now sixth in line at $19. Under-siege Essendon have become firm favourites to claim the wooden spoon at $2 amid a winless start, while the Tigers ($2.75), Carlton ($10), North Melbourne ($13) and Port Adelaide ($17) are all considered more likely to finish bottom than the Eagles.

Andrew McQualter’s side has been energised by the addition of impressive first-round draft trio Willem Duursma, Cooper Duff-Tytler and Josh Lindsay, while fellow young stars Harley Reid and Jobe Shanahan have been superb.

Leading Seven analyst Kane Cornes said the Eagles’ rebuild was on track after they drafted strong talent across all lines.

“If I was going to be any of them, I would like to be Richmond, because you’ve had the success and you’ve got a whole stack of them (young stars) coming through,” he told SEN.

“West Coast are now not far behind. Duff-Tytler is going to be extraordinary. What they’ve done well is cover all positions. Key defenders, they’ve got key forwards, and they’re stacked in the midfield.”

Cornes also praised the Eagles’ veterans who had provided great support for the young stars to develop, highlighting midfielder Tim Kelly, who produced a big third quarter in the win over the Power.

Kelly had 10 disposals, six score involvements and three clearances in that term alone to finish with a team-high 23 touches only two games after being overlooked for the round one loss to Gold Coast.

“The key to this whole thing is your senior players, to have enough senior players around,” Cornes said.

“What about Tim Kelly? It was the best game I’ve seen him play in three years. His second half was extraordinary. You’ve got Kelly, you’ve got (Liam) Baker, you’ve got (Elliot) Yeo’s first half before he ripped his groin again, unfortunately - (he) was terrific. (Jack) Graham is doing his thing.

“(Jake) Waterman, I thought, was the best player on the ground. I thought he had the biggest impact on the game.

“When you have the experience around the youth ... that’s the key to it. You’re going to rebuild, put the experience around them and make it quality experience, don’t make it what Port Adelaide have done with Will Brodie.

“The last two weeks, the youth’s been exciting at the Eagles, but the senior players standing up has been the story of how to go about the rebuild.”