Motormouth Mitch: The trade West Coast will be sweating on in 2026, Fremantle’s big ruck mistake in Cats’ loss

After the season really kicked off with a bumper round one, The West Australian’s Mitchell Woodcock takes a no-holds-barred look at the weekend of action. Duursma Don’t The speculation that Zane Duursma wants out of North Melbourne to join his older brother Xavier at Essendon just won’t go away. And should a trade come to fruition it could spell disaster for West Coast’s rebuild considering they hope the youngest and possibly the most talented in Willem will help lead them back to glory. The Eagles have already invested plenty into the kid nicknamed “Worm” after he became only the fourth No.1 draftee in their history. But should both of his brothers end up at the Bombers, no one could blame the teenager from being tempted to join the pair in the hopes of playing in a fairytale premiership alongside of them. Willem Duursma is automatically contracted to the Eagles until the end of 2028, but we’ve already seen with fellow top draftee Harley Reid that it hasn’t stopped clubs asking the question. No doubt the Bombers – who are also rebuilding under Brad Scott – would love the talent of all three Duursma brothers on their list taking them deep into September. Some would argue that if it eventuated and Willem asked for a trade, that the Eagles would benefit from the draft picks that would potentially be traded. This is not what the club needs right now though. They need Willem to be a part of this young and talented core they are putting together to drive them back to their own return to finals. Duursma, Reid, Cooper Duff-Tytler, Josh Lindsay, Jobe Shanahan, Bo Allan, Reuben Ginbey, Elijah Hewett and the rest of the crop of young players are meant to be the centre of the rebuild for a club which has won only 11 games in the past four seasons. West Coast need Duursma to stay for the long haul. And Zane not joining Xavier at Essendon would be a huge help. West Coast’s Winnables After what was a tough afternoon to start the season for West Coast fans, it’s time to look on the bright side. Scouring through the fixtures and you can circle up to eight games the Eagles should be looking at winnable and it starts this weekend against North Melbourne at home. This year’s run of games has proven favourable for the reigning wooden spooners. West Coast are advantaged by the fact they get to play both fellow battlers in the Kangaroos and Richmond twice. North Melbourne might’ve upset Port Adelaide on Sunday, but there is no evidence to suggest they’re consistent enough to back it up. And even better is the fact they get to take on Alastair Clarkson’s outfit at Optus Stadium on both occasions thanks to the deal the Victorian club signed with the WA Government which includes a clash against Fremantle down in Bunbury. The second of those clashes against North Melbourne is at the end of a run of three consecutive matches in 13 days at home which includes matches against Essendon and Port Adelaide who are also looking at rejuvenating their list. And making it even sweeter is they then have the bye at the end of this run before heading to Melbourne to take on Carlton, who could have a change of coach if their on-field woes keep going. Could it be the first time they face off against premiership coach Adam Simpson who is the part-time director of coaching at the Blues and in the box-seat to be interim should Michael Voss be moved on? Even the Tigers at the MCG should be a 50-50 game, especially considering they got within a whisker of beating them there last year. Melbourne might’ve smashed the Eagles by 83 points at Marvel Stadium late last season, but they are a new-look team and are an unknown quantity under new coach Steven King. And then don’t discount an almighty upset. Especially if an eastern states team in the middle of a gloomy winter decides to leave a star or two at home for the big trip to Optus Stadium. It is a realistic possibility that West Coast could have four to five wins at the end of this season. It’s OK blue and gold faithful, there is hope. Round 2 v North Melbourne, Optus Stadium Round 8 v Richmond, Optus Stadium Round 9 v Melbourne, Marvel Stadium Round 12 v Essendon, Optus Stadium Round 13 v Port Adelaide, Optus Stadium Round 14 v North Melbourne, Optus Stadium Round 16 v Carlton, Marvel Stadium Round 21 v Richmond, MCG Darcy Disaster Fremantle learnt the hard way on Saturday down at GMHBA Stadium that you might be able to have one player on managed minutes, but you cannot have two. The Dockers’ decision to play both captain Alex Pearce and ruckman Sean Darcy when they were clearly not ready for a full game backfired in a big way. Justin Longmuir can point to the disadvantage that Opening Round creates for those who don’t participate when they play against those who do. But the fact they had to manage both Darcy and Pearce throughout the game was also a contributing factor. Playing Pearce is understandable especially given Brennan Cox is injured and Luke Ryan isn’t ready to play AFL after shoulder surgery ruined his pre-season. However, they should have played former Collingwood ruckman Mason Cox rather than go with Darcy. The Dockers’ No.1 ruckman was restricted to only 45 per cent of game time – the lowest on the ground – and his impact was severely hampered as a result. Darcy had only 10 touches, two marks and 22 hit-outs which is well under especially given Geelong had first-gamer Mitch Edwards and Mark Blicavs as their options. Cox would’ve been able to play more minutes, which would’ve allowed Luke Jackson to spend more time in the midfield. Jackson was sensational against the Cats and proved he can play as a big-bodied midfielder. If he’d been given the chance to do that more, it would’ve created more rotations for the rest of the midfielders and maybe they would’ve had more run at the end of the game. Instead, they looked flat-footed and we’re easily over-run, missing a big chance to get a huge win against last year’s grand finalists. It’s going to be an interesting selection call for Longmuir and his staff this week, because if they lose to Melbourne then alarm bells will begin to ring loudly. Curnow Creation Charlie Curnow proved that as a marquee forward at Sydney he can have a massive impact even when he doesn’t hit the scoreboard. Curnow was well held by Brisbane on Saturday night, going goalless and yet the Swans still won comfortably. It was on the back of a great performance from Joel Amartey who booted a game-high five goals, while Logan McDonald and Isaac Heeney chipped in with two apiece. Understandably, the Lions paid plenty of attention to the two-time Coleman medallist as they looked to upset the Bloods at the SCG. It allowed others to get in on the act and Amartey was the beneficiary as the Sydney ran rampant to send a strong message to the rest of the AFL. Make no mistake, Curnow is going to have some big games at some stage but even when he doesn’t his presence alone can contribute to a win. The only negative on the night was what looked to be a serious shoulder injury to Errol Gulden. For the Swans sake, hopefully it’s not too bad. Because this team looks well and truly able to be among those in the premiership hunt.