West Coast started the 2004 season slowly, and by round 9 were languishing in the bottom four following a 101-point loss to St Kilda. The Eagles lifted in the second half of the season, winning the final five games to shoot into the top 8 at the business end of the season full of momentum. It didn't last, however, with West Coast bowing out of the finals in the first week for the third straight year, on a stormy Sydney night.
In just his third year, star midfielder Chris Judd won the Brownlow Medal, the first Eagles player to do so. He was ably assisted in the midfield by captain Ben Cousins, Daniel Kerr, Michael Braun and Chad Fletcher, Fletcher winning All-Australian selection in a career-best year. Goalsneak Phil Matera again kicked 60-plus goals for the year, with Andrew McDougall providing good support in a breakout year. Dean Cox stood up in the ruck in the absence of Michael Gardiner.
Honour board[]
Coach: John Worsfold
Coaching panel: Rob Wiley, Tony Micale, Tim Gepp, Peter Sumich
Captain: Ben Cousins
Club Champion: Chris Judd
Rookie of the Year: Mark Seaby
Best Clubman: Josh Wooden
Leading Goalscorer: Phil Matera (61)
All-Australians: Chad Fletcher, Chris Judd
Rising Star nominees: Brent Staker (round 7), Mark Seaby (round 14), Sam Butler (round 17), Beau Waters (round 18)
Milestones:
150 games: Phil Matera
100 games: Rowan Jones
Squad[]
| Senior list | ||||||||
| 16 | Damien Adkins | 20 | Dean Cox | 27 | Glen Jakovich v | 12 | Kane Munro | |
| 6 | Drew Banfield v | 32 | Andrew Embley | 42 | Paul Johnson | 31 | Mark Nicoski | |
| 43 | Zach Beeck | 7 | Chad Fletcher | 18 | Rowan Jones | 28 | Ashley Sampi | |
| 10 | Michael Braun | 1 | Michael Gardiner | 3 | Chris Judd | 14 | Mark Seaby | |
| 26 | Sam Butler* | 11 | Travis Gaspar | 4 | Daniel Kerr | 37 | Adam Selwood | |
| 46 | Trent Carroll | 23 | Darren Glass | 21 | Quinten Lynch | 41 | Brent Staker | |
| 15 | Callum Chambers | 35 | Kasey Green | 33 | Phil Matera | 22 | Beau Waters* | |
| 17 | Daniel Chick | 29 | Ashley Hansen | 25 | Daniel McConnell* | 44 | David Wirrpanda | |
| 19 | Michael Collica | 8 | Jeremy Humm | 2 | Andrew McDougall | 13 | Josh Wooden | |
| 9 | Ben Cousins | 39 | Adam Hunter | 5 | Chad Morrison | |||
| Rookie list | ||||||||
| 45 | Aaron Edwards | 48 | Jaymie Graham* | 34 | Clancy Rudeforth | |||
| 40 | Michael Embley* | 38 | Brett Jones* | - |
(* New addition to playing list | v Veteran)
| # | Player | Games | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gardiner | 3 | 4 |
| 2 | McDougall | 21 | 35 |
| 3 | Judd | 23 | 24 |
| 4 | Kerr | 21 | 13 |
| 5 | Morrison | 18 | 4 |
| 6 | Banfield | 11 | 2 |
| 7 | Fletcher | 22 | 7 |
| 8 | Humm | 5 | 0 |
| 9 | Cousins | 17 | 8 |
| 10 | Braun | 23 | 9 |
| 11 | Gaspar | 5 | 2 |
| 13 | Wooden | 9 | 3 |
| 14 | Seaby | 17 | 14 |
| 15 | Chambers | 9 | 8 |
| 16 | Adkins | 17 | 13 |
| 17 | Chick | 18 | 6 |
| 18 | R.Jones | 16 | 0 |
| 20 | Cox | 23 | 5 |
| 21 | Lynch | 22 | 6 |
| 22 | Waters | 10 | 0 |
| 23 | Glass | 18 | 2 |
| 26 | Butler | 12 | 1 |
| 27 | Jakovich | 6 | 5 |
| 28 | Sampi | 22 | 32 |
| 29 | Hansen | 6 | 7 |
| 31 | Nicoski | 11 | 1 |
| 32 | Embley | 17 | 14 |
| 33 | Matera | 23 | 61 |
| 35 | Green | 6 | 0 |
| 37 | A.Selwood | 3 | 2 |
| 38 | B.Jones | 8 | 0 |
| 39 | Hunter | 16 | 1 |
| 41 | Staker | 17 | 6 |
| 43 | Beeck | 1 | 0 |
| 44 | Wirrpanda | 22 | 2 |
| 46 | Carroll | 8 | 0 |
Results[]
| Rd | Opponent | Venue | Res | Score | Posn | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-season | ||||||
| 1 | Collingwood | Subiaco | W | 131-26 | ||
| QF | Melbourne | Docklands | L | 75-87 | ||
| Wk 3 | Adelaide | Football Park | L | 30-118 | ||
| Wk 4 | Hawthorn | Subiaco | W | 99-64 | ||
| Home & away | ||||||
| 1 | Western Bulldogs | Docklands | W | 144-137 | 7th | |
| 2 | Port Adelaide | Subiaco | L | 115-118 | 10th | |
| 3 | Essendon | Docklands | L | 131-137 | 9th | |
| 4 | Brisbane | Subiaco | W | 79-76 | 8th | |
| 5 | Carlton | Princes Park | L | 43-92 | 10th | |
| 6 | Fremantle | Subiaco | L | 73-83 | 9th | |
| 7 | Melbourne | MCG | L | 73-122 | 14th | |
| 8 | Sydney | Subiaco | W | 124-97 | 11th | |
| 9 | St Kilda | Docklands | L | 68-169 | 13th | |
| 10 | Richmond | Subiaco | W | 100-63 | 10th | |
| 11 | Collingwood | MCG | L | 75-93 | 10th | |
| 12 | Adelaide | Subiaco | W | 108-76 | 10th | |
| 13 | North Melbourne | Manuka Oval | L | 75-108 | 11th | |
| 14 | Geelong | Subiaco | W | 51-49 | 10th | |
| 15 | Hawthorn | York Park | W | 86-82 | 10th | |
| 16 | Essendon | Subiaco | W | 117-73 | 10th | |
| 17 | Port Adelaide | Football Park | L | 76-102 | 10th | |
| 18 | Western Bulldogs | Subiaco | W | 106-57 | 10th | |
| 19 | Brisbane | Gabba | W | 87-73 | 10th | |
| 20 | Carlton | Subiaco | W | 111-49 | 9th | |
| 21 | Fremantle | Subiaco | W | 83-45 | 7th | |
| 22 | Melbourne | Subiaco | W | 107-67 | 7th | |
| EF | Sydney | Stadium Australia | L | 34-75 |
Jumpers[]
(footyjumpers.com)
Club Champion leaderboard[]
| # | Player | Votes | Games | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Judd | 355 | 23 | ||
| 2nd | Fletcher | 319 | 22 | ||
| 3rd | Cox | 271 | 23 | ||
| 4th | Braun | 262 | 23 | ||
| 5th | Kerr | 259 | 21 | ||
| 6th | Matera | 258 | 23 | ||
| 7th | Glass | 217 | 18 | ||
| 8th | Embley | 214 | 17 | ||
| 9th | Wirrpanda | 212 | 22 | ||
| 10th | Cousins | 192 | 17 |
Stats leaders[]
| # | Goals | Disposals | Disp/game | Marks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Matera | 61 . | Fletcher | 558 . | Fletcher | 25.36 . | Braun | 119 |
| 2nd | McDougall | 35 | Judd | 501 | Judd | 21.78 | Cox | 117 |
| 3rd | Sampi | 32 | Braun | 431 | Cousins | 21.71 | Fletcher | 98 |
| 4th | Judd | 24 | Kerr | 416 | Kerr | 19.81 | Embley | 89 |
| 5th | Embley / Seaby | 14 | Cousins | 369 | Embley | 19.00 | Morrison | 85 |
| # | Kicks | Handballs | Clearances | Tackles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Judd | 330 . | Fletcher | 281 . | Judd | 129 . | Judd | 89 |
| 2nd | Fletcher | 277 | Kerr | 173 | Fletcher | 85 | Braun | 71 |
| 3rd | Wirrpanda | 259 | Braun | 172 | Cousins | 72 | Fletcher | 70 |
| 4th | Braun | 259 | Judd | 171 | Kerr | 68 | Kerr | 68 |
| 5th | Kerr | 243 | Cousins | 166 | Cox | 62 | Sampi | 62 |
Tribunal[]
| Rd | Player | Charge | Outcome | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wiz Cup QF | Kerr | Striking P.Wheatley | Accepted 1-match suspension | |||
| 7 | Green | Kicking C.Bruce | Accepted 4-match suspension | |||
| 8 | Kerr | Striking B.Kirk | Charge withdrawn | |||
| 10 | Glass | Wrestling M.Richardson | Accepted $1,200 fine | |||
| 15 | Banfield | Wrestling L.Hodge | Cleared by Tribunal | |||
| 19 | Kerr | Contact to the head of R.Copeland | Charge withdrawn |