Craig O’Donoghue: West Coast Eagles co-captain Oscar Allen’s contract call a referendum on re-build

We are about to find out how much faith Oscar Allen has in West Coast’s re-build. West Coast’s co-captain faces a massive decision this year when deciding what to do about his contract as a free agent. In essence, it is a one-man referendum on the re-build. The only certainty about the contract is it will be lengthy and worth a lot of money. He’s earned that. Allen kicked 53 goals in 2023 which was about one-quarter of the team’s tally. There aren’t many players in the league who could have done that. Allen will get offers. Reports during the week said Brisbane had already made contact. The Lions have played in the last two grand finals, won the flag last season and haven’t missed the finals since 2018. Their enticement can be as simple as “we can help you to win a premiership.” The Lions, Eagles and any other team that is keen on Allen will be able to throw cash his way. Free agents command big dollars. Key position free agents command even bigger pay packets. Allen will make money regardless of which club he plays for, but his chances of winning a premiership will hinge on signing with the right club at the right time. Tom Lynch moved from a struggling Gold Coast to Richmond at the end of 2018 after the Tigers had won the 2017 flag and then played in the 2018 preliminary final. Lynch won premierships in both 2019 and 2020. Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper left 16th placed GWS to become Tigers at the end of 2022. Now they’re going to experience the pain of a massive re-build. Timing is everything. Allen has seen what it takes to win a premiership. He was within touching distance of playing in the 2018 grand final. The Eagles picked Allen, who was 19 and had played two games, as one of their four emergencies for that game. Jeremy McGovern had broken ribs and needed pain killers to play. Allen went to bed on the Friday night wondering if he was about to get a call up for a grand final. Six seasons later, Allen is yet to play in a winning final. He played 21 matches in 2019 but missed the elimination final victory over Essendon with knee soreness and then wasn’t selected for the semifinal against Geelong the following week. Allen’s only final was during 2020, in front of a restricted home crowd with just over 32,000 people in the stands, and West Coast lost by one point. Since that time he’s played in just 14 wins. Of bigger concern, 17 of his losses have been by more than 10 goals. They include five defeats by more than 100 points. He’s also watched a lot of thrashings from the sidelines while injured. Every player craves a premiership. Allen will be 26 in May and there’s question marks over how long his knee will allow him to play at the highest level. Part of his decision will most likely include him asking himself how long he thinks he’s got left in the game and whether he can win a premiership during that time. West Coast tried selling the message that they would quickly rise up the ladder and challenge again because that’s what they’d done in the past. But so far that confidence has proven to be unwarranted. It’s bloody hard to climb the AFL ladder. Hawthorn stormed into the semi finals last season after five years of missing the eight but they won 15 games in the previous two campaigns. West Coast have won only 10 matches in the last three years. The Eagles have quickly become a young group. They’ve turned over half the list since the end of the 2022 season. New coach Andrew McQualter has a big job to develop this team. If Allen likes what he sees during 2025 and has confidence that the team can compete for a premiership during his career, he should have a stronger leaning towards remaining an Eagle. But if West Coast don’t take the steps needed to suggest they’ve moved out of the dungeon, then Allen will find it tougher to stay. Getting out of the dungeon doesn’t always require wins. Brisbane won five games in both 2017 and 2018, but their percentage rose from 74.3 to 89.1 after constantly losing close games. Lachie Neale saw enough positives to join the Lions at the end of 2018. Signing Harley Reid or convincing Chad Warner to become a West Coast player are other ways to indicate the Eagles are heading in the right direction. Allen’s decision is huge for the club. As a free agent, the Eagles will get a top draft pick as compensation if he leaves but the body blow of having a captain depart, particularly if it’s for a premiership contender, would be savage. And on the flip side, if Allen stays because he truly believes the team is on the rise, it would send a message to his teammates, prospective recruits and the rest of the league that he’s rejecting offers from teams in the premiership window because he likes what he sees at the Eagles. Some signatures are worth more than others. Right now, Allen’s is massive.