West Coast have a path out of hell with Harley Reid but Eagles can’t afford draft mistakes warns Kane Cornes

Kane Cornes has warned West Coast simply must nail their off-season, saying the war chest of picks they are set to take to the draft could turn the club around.

West Coast set a historic low this year, finishing the season with just one win to their name, claiming a second wooden spoon in three seasons, having lost 87 of their past 100 games.

However, they enter the draft with arguably their best hand in years with picks 1, 12, 19 and 30 as their first four, while they are expected to get pick two as compensation for Oscar Allen.

Cornes said if the Eagles get it right, they can be a team on the rise next year.

“It’s a hand that can turn your club around, and they kept Harley Reid and you’ve got players like Elijah Hewett and some key positions up forward that look good,” he said on AFL.com.au.

“They’re starting to be ok, we can actually see a way out of the hell they’ve been in for the last five years.

“It’s a great opportunity, chuck in pick two for Oscar Allen, and it’s perfect.

“Don’t stuff it up.”

His comments follow West Coast CEO Don Pyke saying the Eagles need to balance bringing in more young talent with experienced support, suggesting they could be open to splitting picks again.

“It’s something we’ll look at, we’re pretty clear on our strategy,” he said on SEN.

“We feel like last year’s moves to bring in Jack Graham and Liam Baker helped address those gaps in how list and we’ll look to bolster that group, but we’re mindful we want to also keep our high-end picks.

“Ideally, if we end up with three picks inside the top 15 or we do split to get four, we have to be careful not to go down to getting young talent and expose them to the rigours of AFL week to week.

“We need those experienced guys to do some of the heavy lifting to provide the grunt and leadership we need across the team.”

The Eagles could further strengthen their draft capital should they find a deal for premiership forward Liam Ryan; however, the club has remained firm that he remains a required player.

“You never say never, he’s a required player, he’s got a contract for next year,” he said.

“We’d love to see him back playing at the level we know he’s capable of, which probably hasn’t been able to because of hamstring stuff.”