RIVAL coaches Mark Thompson and John Worsfold presented a staggering contrast in the coach's boxes at Subiaco last Saturday as Geelong obliterated West Coast by 135 points.

Thompson was munching on a sandwich, looking as if he did not have a care in the world, while Worsfold was going through hell as his proud club suffered its worst home loss in more than 20 years.

How different it was 21 short months earlier. Worsfold was on top of the world after West Coast had won the 2006 premiership, and Thompson's job was on the line at Geelong amid a full football review.

It makes you realise how staggeringly quickly things can turn. How important Chris Judd and Ben Cousins were to the Eagles. How important it is to make the most of every opportunity.

After witnessing the prowess of Geelong and powerless display of West Coast, I decided to put the investigative hat on and discovered it is not all bad for Worsfold and West Coast.

Their football club is not the basket case last week's score might suggest, and they can turn things around just as quickly as they have nose-dived. Why?

Seventeen members of the 2006 premiership side are still at the club. Only Judd, Cousins, Rowan Jones, Daniel Chick and Drew Banfield have moved on. Key pair Dean Cox (26) and Daniel Kerr (25) are in the prime of their careers.

The Eagles have the second-youngest list in the competition. In 2006, they were the seventh-oldest and last year the 11th-oldest. Their list ranks 13th in average games played. In 2006, it was sixth and last year it was ninth.

The nucleus of a good side, with a five-star core, is still there — even if it has been seriously hampered by injuries to key figures this year. Also, at least from an outsider's viewpoint, they have addressed the cultural issues that were so divisive last year and seem to have emerged a much stronger, more unified club.

The Eagles' player turnover from their 2005-06 grand final sides won't be anything like what the Brisbane Lions went through after the 2001-02-03-04 grand finals. Only eight premiership players remain, five years after the third flag.

From its 2005-06 group, West Coast has lost Phil Matera, Ashley Sampi, Kasey Green (2005), Michael Gardiner, Travis Gasper, Banfield (2006), Judd, Cousins, Chick and Jones (2007). Sure, the tag "premiership player" doesn't guarantee anything, but in large numbers, especially when mixed with a sizeable dose of youth, it is reason for optimism.

At the start of the season, Sydney was widely tipped to slide. Yet with largely the same group, sparked by youngsters Jarred Moore, Craig Bird and Kieren Jack, it has emerged as a premiership contender.

Carlton is the youngest list by a whisker from West Coast. Interestingly, Hawthorn, an emerging power club, is third-youngest, followed in order by Richmond, Brisbane, Essendon, Port Adelaide, Collingwood, Melbourne, Bulldogs, Geelong, North Melbourne, Adelaide, St Kilda, Sydney and Fremantle. Carlton, too, has the least experienced list in games played, followed by Hawthorn, Port, West Coast, Richmond, Brisbane, Essendon, Adelaide, Geelong, Bulldogs, North, Melbourne, Collingwood, St Kilda, Fremantle and Sydney, the most experienced list.

If you believe the collective football media this year, Carlton is on the up and up, and West Coast is a diabolical mess. Yet if you plot each on the development timeline, they are not that far apart.

Carlton has had a remarkably settled side, with 18 players having played 12 or 13 matches, and just seven who have played five games or less. West Coast, heavily hit by injury, has had just nine players who have played 12 or 13 matches, and 11 who have played five or less. Skipper Darren Glass and Cox have looked sore for much of the year, and Kerr has been in and out.

Aside from the mauling at the hands of the Cats, West Coast has been competitive at home, beaten only one other time by more than four goals. Yet it has been dreadful interstate, which is a classic symptom of a young, developing side.

One or two players — like a Judd or a Cousins — could and would make a massive difference to West Coast. The job now is to find them and develop them. Already this year the Eagles have debuted a league-high seven players. The average of the other 15 clubs is three. That's on top of five debutants last year who are still at the club, plus Carlton trade Josh Kennedy, who is 20.

But it's not as if they need to order a stack of walking sticks for the rest of their list. At the risk of using that dreaded phase again, there are nine premiership players who are 24 or under.

Only Michael Braun (30), Chad Fletcher (28) and David Wirrpanda (28) are in the upper age bracket.

If any of those stats surprise you, you're not alone — they surprised me too. And it might not be long before we see a different team emerge.