Digby Beacham expressed his frustration following West Coast’s shocking defeat to St Kilda. The prominent Western Australian sports journalist appeared on Zero Hanger’s The Outer Wing (brought to you by TabTouch) alongside Mark Stevens to talk about the Eagles’ lacklustre performance and to rank his top five players.
“Horrible, disgusting… use all the phrases you like. They were really, really poor,” Beacham remarked.
The game ended in a 101-point loss, marking West Coast’s largest defeat against the Saints since 2004. “There’s been a fair bit of outrage over here, and fairly so,” Beacham added.
“I think the Eagles supporters thought those floggings, which became fairly commonplace under Adam Simpson, were a thing of the past. Sadly they’re not.”
Beacham then proceeded to rank his top five West Coast players ahead of their upcoming match against Richmond.
Jobe Shanahan and Elliot Yeo
After struggling to find a fifth player worthy of the list, Beacham ultimately decided on a tie, stating that both Shanahan and Yeo had been “showing glimpses” in 2026.
“Shanahan kicked four against Geelong, he had a really big moment against Port Adelaide, so you give him a tick.”
Elliot Yeo… the games that he has played, forgetting that horrible attempt at goal against St Kilda, there’s been some good signs there.”
Jake Waterman
“One thing we’ve talked about with Jake is his accuracy when in front of goal,” Beacham said.
“He’s had 32 scoring shots this year in a side that’s just being pummelled.”
The key forward, who had his 2025 season cut short due to a shoulder injury, has played every game so far this season.
“He’s an All Australian calibre forward.”
Reuben Ginbey
“He’s fighting a losing battle, down back. It’s not a good spot to be at the moment, the West Coast defence,” Beacham explains.
“All in all you know he’s going to give you a really good contest each and every time the ball’s down there.”
Willem Duursma
Beacham acknowledges that placing Duursma at number 2 in his debut year may be an indictment against older players, but he doesn’t care.
“I think this kid’s really good. He’s got some good numbers…he’s a great size, a great mover and he’s had a great start to what looks to be a long and prosperous AFL career.”
Harley Reid
The midfielder tops the list, returning after an ankle injury for his third AFL season.
“There are some dips with him and he’s not always dialled in at the manner that you’d like, but I think he’s taken a quantum leap this year,” Beacham said.
“He’s averaging 23 disposals, four and a half clearances. He’s winning that contested footy. Is he going to be somewhat frustrating for West Coast fans at stages? Absolutely but in all in all I think Harley Reid’s carrying that midfield.”
