With four rounds remaining in the qualifying season it seemed as though the West Coast Eagles were finals bound. One win in the last month would almost certainly secure a place in the September battle.

But a wheel wobble leading into and after the mid-season bye became a full-scale break down at the back end of the year.

They lost five of seven games in that mid-season period but then went winless from round 20-23 after sitting seventh and being two-games to the good of ninth-placed Essendon.

The first in that run of defeats was a pitiful performance against Collingwood at the MCG on a day when premiership captain Shannon Hurn became the first Eagle to play 300 games. They kicked just one goal in a miserable first half and although there was a response thereafter, the game was beyond reach as they lost by 45 points.

That was followed by a nine-point loss to Melbourne at Optus Stadium in one of the most bizarre games in AFL history. On a stormy Monday night the players were ordered from the field seven minutes into the final term because of local lightning strikes.

The Demons led 10.9 (69) to 5.6 (36) at that point and there was a real possibility it would be the final score as the storm persisted and the match was at high risk of being called off. But play did resume after almost a half hour delay and the revitalised Eagles made a fight of it, albeit to no avail and eventually lost 10.12 (72) to 9.9 (63).

Next came a derby loss to Fremantle that ended an 11-game winning streak in the cross-town battle which saw the Eagles drop out of the top eight. They would need to beat Brisbane at the Gabba to close out the home and away campaign but that was never a realistic aspiration as their hosts were looking to lock away a top four finish.

The Eagles were brave but not good enough as the Lions notched up a 38-point victory which saw them earn a double chance by just .5 percent over the Western Bulldogs.

It was the first time since Adam Simpson’s first year at the helm (2014) that the Eagles had missed finals.       

The AFLW season saw the Eagles continue to grow, winning two games and being competitive in all but a couple of games. They took the match up to Fremantle in the first derby of the season but lost the return bout comprehensively.

They did, however, score impressive wins over Gold Coast and Geelong at home and showed genuine growth as the fledgling team began to soar.