If the West Coast Eagles have one more AFL premiership run, Oscar Allen holds the key

It is six minutes into the second quarter of West Coast’s 2021 round five clash with Collingwood and Oscar Allen has timed his run to perfection. Jamie Cripps hovers a ball inside 50, towards Josh Kennedy jostling for position with two Collingwood defenders. Allen is all alone, but loitering within eavesdropping range and as the ball approaches the contest, the rangy forward makes his move. As Kennedy and the Collingwood defenders trace the ball’s flight, not one of them notices Allen surging towards them. Just as he is within striking range, Allen suddenly stutters his run, slows himself down and composes himself, before launching himself on top of the pack, coming to rest on the turf with the ball in his hands. The mark was the highlight of a career night for Allen, in which he kicked a career-high five goals and recorded a team-high nine score involvements. But the small moments which immediately preceded the mark, the nuances in which games hang in the balance, are an example of why Allen is so highly-rated around the league. The 22 year-old is renowned for being a strong mark and a reliable goalkicker, blessed with a constant desire to improve and lead by example on and off the field. Allen’s manager Andrew McDougall, himself a former West Coast forward, said Allen had five key attributes - professionalism, courage, work rate, talent and a high footy IQ - which pointed towards an elite career. “He has played some terrific games to date for the club and has all the elements to be one of the best key forwards in the competition,” he said. For a West Coast side still adamant another premiership is a possibility, Allen making such a leap is crucial to those dreams becoming a reality. Allen’s emergence as one of the competition’s best young forwards may be something of a surprise to most observes - even West Coast, who took him with the 21st selection in the 2017 AFL Draft, rated him lower than they did fellow key position prospect Jarrod Brander, who was off-loaded in the off-season. But those who witnessed his rise as a teenager who went from missing out on state representative honours as a 16 and 17 year-old to a Larke Medallist as an 18 year-old, say a young Allen had all the hallmarks of an above-average AFL-level forward. WAFC talent manager Adam Jones said while the West Perth product’s game had improved significantly over time, his playing style had not drastically altered. “At state 18s he was very similar, he’d lead up at the ball well, read the game, take nice marks and tended to impact on the scoreboard each game as well with a couple of goals,” Jones said. As co-captain of the WA side at the 2017 AFL Under-18 Championships, Allen led them to three wins from four and kicked 11 goals, winning the Larke Medal for the tournament’s most outstanding player in the process. Jones said Allen’s performances in those state games made him confident he would be able to re-produce those same performances in the AFL. “In my time watching championship footy, the kids who do well at champs, more often than not they’re able to translate that to AFL,” Jones said. “Having seen a lot of championship football over the last 15 years, I had great confidence that he was going to be able to do what he’d done at underage level at the AFL.” Allen’s West Perth colts coach Ryan Lasscock said it was immediately obvious he was one of the elite players in his 2017 team, both on and off-field. “There was just little things along the way that he kept ticking off to show he was going to be a very good footballer,” Lasscock said. “He did everything at the highest level possible, in his training standards and the way he went about his preparation and rehab and recovery. “You just knew if he got an opportunity, it wasn’t going to be that big of a jump to the next level, because he ticked all the boxes. “He reads the play really well, he’s a step and a half ahead or a couple seconds ahead of where they think the ball is going to go. With all the top-end talent, they seem to be able to read it a bit quicker and get to the right spots.” Jones said Allen had erased doubts from recruiters about whether he had the necessary physical tools to make a dent on the game at the top level. “His footy smarts have allowed him to have the success he has and being able to read the game, adjust, and have sticky hands, have helped him become the player he is today. “I have distinct memories in the under-18s when a ball was kicked inside 50 and it looked like it had gone over his opponent’s head and I thought it was going to go over Oscar’s, but he judged it beautifully and it stuck in his hands.” In his first four season since arriving at West Coast, Allen has been used as a jack-of-all-trades, spending time down back and in the ruck, but it is clear his future lies forward. He has kicked 66 goals from his first 59 games and emerged as an excellent marker, finished second at the club in contested marks (37) and third for inside 50 marks (36) in 2021. Allen has grown a couple of centimetres since being drafted and filled out his frame, while showing a fleet of foot at ground level which marks him apart from the archetypal lumbering full forward of yesteryear. West Coast have talked up switching to a fast-paced style of play, but their bread and butter of wing-based contested marking will still come in handy. His manager McDougall believes Allen has the skillset to do both and compared him to Nick Riewoldt. “He’ll work right off the ground up into the wing and then all the way back inside forward 50. I think he’s got a lot of Riewoldt’s attributes,” McDougall said. “If you’re a skilled contested marker as a tall, but you can also work higher up the ground, provide an option and get back into the goal square, I believe they are quality attributes for modern day forwards.” Allen appears to be an easy-going, happy-go-lucky young man with a smile permanently etched onto his face, but McDougall said it belied an intense hunger and drive to constantly improve. Allen is clearly loving his time at West Coast, best-evidenced by his willingness to sign a three-year extension last season amid reported eastern-states interest, tying him to the team until 2025. McDougall said the former St Mark’s Anglican Community School head boy’s leadership qualities had been evident for some time. “I always saw that he had a strong character, strong leadership qualities and was a hard trainer, very disciplined and professional,” he said. “He wants to be one of the leaders at the club and a really highly impactful player on the field as well and be consistent with those outputs. He always gives you effort, he’s got great courage, great leadership.” “I believe there’s no real ceiling on it, Oscar has a drive to keep improving every year and he has the professionalism, work rate, and the footy IQ to reach his goals and be the best player he can be for West Coast.” The clock is ticking on West Coast’s premiership window, which is still slightly ajar but at risk of being slammed shut by the slightest of gusts. For the past decade, one of the Eagles’ strengths has been their key forwards, with the tall timber of Kennedy and Jack Darling having combined for 1046 goals between them since 2011. But heading into 2022, the success of their forward line - and with it, the fate of their flag tilt - may well depend on the aerially-gifted Allen taking another big leap in his development. Kennedy kicked 41 goals last season but has battled injuries over the past few years and will be 35 by the end of this season, which looms as his curtain call. Darling has either refused to get vaccinated for the time being or has a valid sick note from his doctor; irrespective of the why, he has been locked out of the club’s Lathlain base until further notice. Beyond the two towers, Allen is the only key forward on the books apart from rookie Jack Williams. If there was pressure on Allen’s broad shoulders before the Darling news, it has significantly ramped up in the wake of it. Heavy lies the burden of being the focal point of the attack; but if there is anyone equipped to deal with the duress, it is the young forward who has improved with each season. Everything points to Allen seizing the mantle of West Coast’s number one forward for the next decade, but whether it happens sooner rather than later could have a big bearing on their immediate premiership hopes. On-field, timing is everything for Allen; this season, the Eagles are hoping his time is now.

If the West Coast Eagles have one more AFL premiership run, Oscar Allen holds the key

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