Why West Coast Eagles dropped Georgie Cleaver after fourth-placed best and fairest finish in 2025

Emerging West Coast defender Georgie Cleaver was dropped from their side due to team balance, rather than any overriding concerns with her form or development, according to Eagles coach Daisy Pearce.

After a fourth-placed finish in the club’s best and fairest award last season, Cleaver was a shock omission from their side which went down to second-placed Melbourne by 37 points at Mineral Resources Park on Sunday.

The 21-year-old, who was selected at full-back in the AFL Players Association’s 22under22 team as the Eagles broke through for their first appearance in the AFLW finals, averaged 12 disposals and four marks across the first three games of the season.

Pearce said the primary factor in Cleaver coming out of their side was the line-up they were expecting the Demons to bring to Perth.

“We suspected they might be a bit smaller forward of the footy this week. Mia Austin coming out of their team injured and Lauren Pearce not playing meant that they couldn’t rest a ruck forward,” Pearce said.

“With those things, we just thought we might need different match-ups in our back half.”

Pearce said she could not fault Cleaver’s response to her omission and said the East Fremantle product remained a key piece in their future plans.

“Early in the season, we weren’t helping our backs much with the way the ball was moving in there, so that’s a factor,” Pearce said.

“We think she’s going to be part of our best side in the future. She’s a really athletic, hard-working key position player who can play on a variety of opponents, big and small, but just getting after her one-on-one defending and her ability in the air against strong marking targets is something that she’s working on.

“This week, I’ll back her in, she’ll turn up. She’s already hit me up on her days off to come in and do some work on it.

“We want a competitive squad. Games are earned. There’s different things players are working on all the time.

“I’m very confident Georgie will keep improving and add the next layer to her game and she’ll be in our best team moving forward.”

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