Harry Edwards, like Tom Hanks in Cast Away, hopes he has left the “island” for good.
The Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) defender was forced to fend for himself in the Eagles’ 87-point round one loss to Gold Coast at Optus Stadium, conceding six goals to Gold Coast full-forward Ben King.
But it was off the back of a 67-34 inside 50 imbalance and a centre clearance crushing from Suns’ pair Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson.
Veteran defender, Jeremy McGovern, defended Edwards after the game.
“It’s not Harry at all. He was very much on an island,” McGovern said. “It’s a team thing. We need to try to support him as much as we can.
“It makes it hard when you don’t win the footy and you get smashed at the stoppages …”
Edwards might have to cope without McGovern for a while, perhaps for the remainder of his AFL career, as the premiership backman prepares to face a concussion panel.
But coming off his best performance of the season in the Eagles’ only win so far and off the back of a tough opening to the footy year, Edwards feels ready for anything the game throws at him.
“It’s a hard role in footy when you know you’re under the pump down there sometimes, and it can be a very lonely place playing fullback in that kind of scenario,” the 24-year-old told The West Australian.
“But you’ve got to have a thick skin, and you’ve got to be able to move on. So I’ve been working on that throughout the year, and hopefully continue to get better.”
“That was tough. We got smacked in the face a bit because we’d had a few good pre-season and Gold Coast are a good side, as they’ve shown now with their ladder position. It was a tough day, but that’s all right, we’ve moved on from then.”
Sent back to the WAFL a couple of times to find form and confidence, Edwards has played the past two games on the last line and is a critical part of a young defensive unit.
“It was a chance to get back to my game. You know, I’m a good defender when I’m up and going, but footy is hard sometimes,” he said.
“I had had a few poor games at the start of the year, so I’ve got to string together some better performances, and I have done that in the last couple of weeks. So hopefully I can continue to do that as the year goes on.
“Just got to keep working on my craft, working on my contest. And play my role for the team.”
Edwards, Ryan Maric, Reuben Ginbey Sandy Brock, Rhett Bazzo and Jobe Shanahan are considered the new breed of Eagles backmen, alongside the experienced Tom Cole and with Oscar Allen oscillating between the forward and defensive 50 arcs.
It must seem a very different back six with McGovern’s future up in the air and Tom Barrass now plying his craft at Hawthorn.
“He’s been huge for me, you know, playing the same position,” Edwards said of McGovern.
“We’re good mates and he’s helped me so much throughout my career to this point. And I love playing with him, and I love having him around. He’s played a big part in my career so far, and I’m sure he will continue to do that.”
“It is different, but it’s exciting. You know, it’s kind of a new chapter for our back line. We get to play the likes of Sandy Brock. Reuben’s come along heaps this year. He’s playing real good footy. We are just loving the mix we’ve got down there at the moment.”
Asked where he would prefer Allen to play he said: “I think he’s a natural orward. And obviously I’m going to say that because I want to play back. But now he can play both ends. That’s the beauty of him. And he’s a great leader, so he’s happy to do whatever. But I think he would also say he’s a natural forward.”
Allen has been named forward for Sunday’s road trip clash with Kuwarna (Adelaide), but might be required at the other end to combat the multi-pronged tall Crows’ attack of Taylor Walker, Riley Thilthorpe, Darcy Fogarty and Daniel Curtin.
“We’ve obviously got a young back line but we are working together a lot better and we’ll attack that with ferocity,” Edwards said of the challenge.
Edwards felt last Sunday’s win over Euro-Yroke was achieved with the sort of football brand they would like to be known for.
“I just felt like everyone really nailed their role on the weekend. You know, no one was trying to be flashy, no one was trying to do more than they had to,” he said.
“Everyone just did their role and did what they had to do, and when it was their moment to go, they went. And, you know, it all flowed on. And we played a good game.
“I think it says that we’re around the mark, that what we’re trying to produce is there when we get it right. And that’s, you know, that’s the hard part of AFL football, is getting it right all the time. That’s what the best teams do.
“We’ve shown that when we when we do it, we can win and we can dominate patches of games. So we can just get some consistencies, get that going the whole game. Hopefully we can build on that and have a good back end to the year.”
Edwards, like many of his teammates, hadn’t sung the victory song for some time. He did play in a victory last year, against Gold Coast, but was concussed.
“So I hadn’t really won a game since 2021. I won seven of my first eight games, and then I think I won two in the next whatever it is. So, yeah, it’s been been a while between drinks, but it was a great feeling.
“I think it just showed real maturity and growth in our group.
“In the past we’ve had teams come at us, and we’ve had a little lead, and we’ve let it get the better of us, but on the weekend, we were able to respond in those moments, and that’s what got us a win in the end.”
https://thewest.com.au/sport/west-coast-eagles/waalitj-marawar-west-coast-defender-harry-edwards-hopes-to-have-turned-corner-after-saints-performance-c-18781520
