AFL great Matthew Richardson backs Oscar Allen to kick 60 goals, warns Jake Waterman pairing ‘dangerous’

If he can stay fit, West Coast forward Oscar Allen “can kick 60 goals” in 2025, according to AFL great Matthew Richardson. Allen, 25, had another injury-interrupted season last year, with his seventh campaign halted after one game by a serious knee issue. The Eagles co-captain did not return until round 15 but kicked 20 goals across the remaining 10 games to finish the season on a positive note. Allen then flew to Qatar in October to put his injury troubles behind him, as he heads into the final year of his contract with West Coast in 2025. And Richardson, who kicked more than 800 goals for Richmond, said it could be a career-best season the soon-to-be free agent - if he can stay on the park. “I love Oscar Allen because he doesn’t miss his opportunities,” Richardson told The West Australian. “One thing I know about key forwards, from back in the day when I was playing to now, it’s a lot harder to get isolation, it’s a lot harder to have seven, eight, nine marks inside 50. “If you take two or three or four marks inside 50 a game, you’re going well and Oscar Allen converts his opportunities. “If he stays fit and gets his three or four shots a week, he can kick 60 goals, no doubt.” West Coast have not had a player kick 60-plus goals since retired great Josh Kennedy in 2017. Allen’s best return so far in his career came in 2023, when he played every game for West Coast and kicked 53.23. Jake Waterman repeated that feat exactly last season, earning All-Australian honours for the first time as he spearheaded the Eagles. Richardson said if Waterman can reach anywhere near the heights of 2024, and get a partnership going with Allen, the pair could be a “dangerous combination” for the rebuilding side. “We know what Waterman did last year. He doesn’t have to do as well as he did last year, but if he can be close to that and Allen lives up to what we know he can do, that’s a dangerous combination,” he said. “And that makes the West Coast Eagles a lot better already.”