West Coast great Peter Sumich predicts it could take up to four years for his former club to become a finals contender again, but he has a plan for how they can reduce the rebuild pain.
The Eagles (1-6) have slumped to last spot on the AFL ladder on the back of crippling losses to Sydney (63 points), Port Adelaide (84) and Richmond (109).
Sumich believes premiership coach Adam Simpson deserves the chance to lead the rebuild, and said trading away the club's ageing stars may no longer be worthwhile given their reduced currency.
Veterans Josh Kennedy and Shannon Hurn are expected to retire at the end of this season, while Nic Naitanui (32 years old), Luke Shuey (31), Jack Redden (31), Jeremy McGovern (30), Jamie Cripps (30), Jack Darling (29) and Andrew Gaff (29) are entering the twilights of their careers.
Elliot Yeo is 28 and has been plagued by injuries over the past two seasons.
West Coast haven't had a top-10 draft pick since Gaff in 2010 and they have had just five picks inside the top 20 in that time.
Their decision to give up two first-round draft picks for Tim Kelly at the end of 2020 further deprived them of young talent.
Talk has swirled about the prospect of West Coast landing Western Bulldogs ruckman Tim English or emerging Melbourne star Luke Jackson, but Sumich said the Eagles must now focus squarely on the draft.
"It is a proven formula, but you go through some pain with it as well," Sumich told AAP.
"It's going to be anywhere from two to four years of getting any squad in place that's going to have an assault on the top eight.
"And then you need to keep going to have an assault on the top four, which will take another 12 to 24 months."
Sumich is urging West Coast to scour the WAFL, SANFL and VFL in a bid to find some mature-age talent that can help fill the void while the club loads up on youngsters at the draft.
He said using late draft picks or rookie spots for those players would be a good strategy.
"Look at players between 21 to 25 years old, like they've done with Greg Clark," Sumich said.
"I think he's a ripper. Those blokes have got another six or seven years in them.
"They'll probably be at the end of the tether when you're ready to strike for a premiership.
"But what they'll do is really help the squad. The majority of them will be back-up players and players who aren't in your best 15, but will really help your squad and keep it buoyant throughout the rebuild period."
Defender Tom Barrass (hamstring) is set to return for Saturday night's clash with Brisbane at the Gabba, but Willie Rioli (hamstring), Xavier O'Neill (knee), Jackson Nelson (COVID protocols) and Alex Witherden (COVID protocols) have been forced out.
