Bruised Eagles face uphill battle in 2022

West Coast's summer from hell: A mighty good omen or the red flags to disaster?

The Eagles have endured the worst pre-season out of all 18 AFL teams, with a glut of injuries, a vaccine-hesitant star, a concussion retirement, and an inexplicable gaffe regarding a Pride jumper all haunting the club.

West Coast stumbled to ninth last year in a campaign that was blighted by injuries.

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The perception was 2022 would be the club's final crack at premiership glory before the flag window slammed firmly shut on the ageing squad.

But as it stands, the Eagles will struggle to fire a shot this season due to a crippling injury crisis.

Jamie Cripps (pectoral muscle), Dom Sheed (ankle), Tom Cole (ankle), Greg Clark (shoulder), and first-round draft pick Campbell Chesser (ankle) are set to miss a huge chunk of the season.

Midfield bull Elliot Yeo (calf), emerging star Oscar Allen (foot) and young onballer Luke Edwards (groin) will miss the start of the campaign, while skipper Luke Shuey (hamstring) and Liam Duggan (knee) are also in doubt.

All-Australian defender Brad Sheppard was forced to retire due to concussion, while star forward Jack Darling could join him after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The injury crisis, combined with the club's 97-point practice match loss to Fremantle, have led some pundits to predict the ageing squad will finish with the wooden spoon in 2022.

Sound familiar?

In 2018, Robert Walls infamously predicted the Eagles to finish last.

His prediction came just a week after West Coast suffered a 62-point pre-season loss to Fremantle.

West Coast defied the doubters by winning the premiership later that year with a famous grand final victory over