West Coast Eagles captaincy replacement for Luke Shuey is a race-in-three after Tom Barrass decision

Barrass, who had been courted by Sydney, now looks set to see out a long-term contract with the Eagles, putting him alongside forward Oscar Allen and defender/midfielder Liam Duggan as the men the Eagles are most likely to turn to to follow Shuey in the captaincy.

Shuey, who has played 247 games and led the team since the start of the 2020 season, announced his decision to retire on Tuesday despite the offer of a one-year contract from coach Adam Simpson.

West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett would not be drawn on the captaincy issue on Wednesday morning but did confirm Barrass was staying at West Coast.

“Tom has always indicated that he is staying,” Nisbett told SEN. “He signed a long-term contract 18 months ago so his intent was very clear then and it is still very clear now.

“Yes, other clubs can come at players and offer whatever they like but in the end if a guy has a contract it is up to the club. Tom understands that but it is also his will to continue to develop this young group. He is a big part of that development and leadership and consequently we are really positive he will be with us next year.

Barrass, 27, won’t play again this season after a heavy fall in West Coast’s loss to Richmond three weeks ago left him with a disc problem in his back. He is contracted to West Coast until the end of the 2026 season, at which point he would become an unrestricted free agent.

Sydney had pursued him strongly before that contract was signed and were believed to be showing strong interest again as they faced the prospect of replacing Paddy McCartin.

It was always going to be a difficult deal to pull off: the Eagles were likely to ask for Sydney’s first pick in the national draft – currently inside the top 10 – and a significant player as well as compensation for losing Barrass.

The 197 centimetre power defender is the reigning John Worsfold Medallist as the club’s best and fairest player in 2022. He was regarded as the likely alternative to Shuey at the start of the season when it wasn’t clear if Shuey would continue in the role.

But it is fair to say the club has kept an open mind on Shuey’s likely successor and coach Simpson was happy to rotate players like Barrass, Duggan and Allen through the role during periods of Shuey’s absence this season.

Players like Jeremy McGovern, 31, are likely to be considered too old to succeed Shuey.

And even if age was not deemed a significant factor in the decision, McGovern would still be viewed as unlikely given injury issues in recent seasons. He has played only six times this season after a serious hamstring injury in round three, and only 10 times last year with rib and back concerns.

Elliot Yeo, 29, might be young enough but has also been struck down with significant injury issues since his osteitis pubis diagnosis in 2020. He played 10 of 18 games that season, 12 of 22 in 2021, five games in 2022 and has played eight times so far in 2023.

With McGovern often playing the interceptor role when fit, Barrass would face the responsibility of playing the lockdown role on gun opposition tall forwards, which has the potential to make the captaincy a difficult juggling act.

Collingwood skipper Darcy Moore is his team’s primary tall defender but plays in a style more like McGovern than Barrass. Fremantle’s Alex Pearce plays the lock down role at Fremantle and has faced criticism this year when the team has lost and he has conceded goals.

Allen, 24, shapes as a future captain of the Eagles at some point. He has played 79 games, is widely regarded as the club’s best young player and has leadership traits. It is understood he would welcome the role.

But it raises the question of whether the bloke who you want to become your primary tall forward, filling the very big boots left by Josh Kennedy, should be the captain when the club is almost certainly facing at least 12 tough more months as it progresses a list rebuild.

To his credit, Allen has produced a very strong comeback from the foot problem which sidelined him for the entire 2022 season. He has kicked 45 goals from 20 games and has kicked goals in every game but one. He was goalless against Carlton in round 19 when seconded from attack to defence to play on a rampaging Charlie Curnow after Carlton had kicked nine unanswered goals before quarter time.

Meanwhile, Duggan, 26, has played consistently since a debut as a teenager in 2015, is universally liked by teammates and is widely regarded as one of the hardest workers at the club.

He has split his time between defence and the midfield in 2023, has added much needed physicality in both positions and has always shown strong leadership traits.

He, midfielder Tim Kelly and Allen are the three players most likely to fill the top three spots in the club’s best and fairest county at this point.

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Nisbett said it was premature to speculate on a future skipper.

“We have got an existing leadership group and that will need to be worked through,” he said.

“I couldn’t give you anything definite on that at the moment. It is brand new that Luke is finishing up. Hopefully we will get a glimpse of him again in the next few weeks.”