AFL Legend Leigh Matthews wants AFL to give West Coast Eagles a priority pick in the national draft

Hall of Fame Legend Leigh Matthew has called on the AFL to give West Coast a priority pick in the draft, saying the league will suffer if the team remains non-competitive.

The Eagles’ 83-point loss to Melbourne on Saturday guaranteed they will finish on the bottom of the ladder this year and the club is preparing a request for draft assistance from the AFL after winning just 11 matches across the last four seasons.

Matthews said it was vital that the competition didn’t have one team that simply couldn’t compete.

“If you’re ever going to give a priority pick again, they have been bad enough for long enough,” Matthew said on Fox Footy’s On The Couch.

“I know they won the premiership in 2018 and that’s in the back of your mind. But if you are that bad, the first choice in the draft this year might go the Eagles and he’ll think ‘terrific, I’ve got to be down the bottom of the ladder.’ You’ve got to try to make sure equalisation works so the draft works.

“They’re rich and they’re powerful but you can’t buy a premiership in modern footy, which is a good thing. But they are going to have to draft really well.

“I look back at the Suns. Remember the Suns were down the bottom about six years ago and they got a priority pick. They got Rowell and they got Anderson. Great ability, great character and they stayed. The Suns have sort of built their team off the back of their example.

“This is what the Eagles’ challenge is to be. You’ve got to do free agency to elevate yourself but you’ve got to draft really good character that stays the journey.”

The AFL Commission will be responsible for making the decision around West Coast’s application but the club’s recent success will also be taken into account. The Eagles won the premiership in 2018 and played in the 2015 grand final.

Gold Coast had missed the finals for their first nine seasons, finished in the bottom four seven times, were still on the bottom of the ladder and had struggled to retain players.

When asked if West Coast’s premiership should count against West Coast’s application, Matthews agreed it would be a problem.

“That is an interesting point,” he said.

“Maybe if you’ve won a premiership in the last decade, you become ineligible. But they’ve won 11 games in the last five seasons. If you’re really bad, you can stay bad, but the competition is based on its equalisation pillar.”