Coach comes clean after ‘disappointing’ loss

West Coast’s season is at the crossroads after a 45-point drubbing at the hands of Collingwood, and Adam Simpson said the Eagles won’t get far on current form.

The Eagles were on the end of a black and white landslide in the first half, going to the main break 50 points down, eventually pulling the margin back to 45-points.

“We need to look at it and go through the game and address it with the players,” Simpson said.

“The season is still alive, we’re still there abouts, but we’re not going to get far if we play like that.

“We need to own it and get better real quick, or we won’t get far at all.”

There was a feeling of guilt and disappointment in the West Coast rooms after the Eagles were embarrassed in Shannon Hurn’s 300th game against Collingwood, Adam Simpson said.

Simpson said the Eagles had let their captain down.

“There’s a little bit of guilt for a player that’s served us so well for so many years and played his role again today,” he said.

“We’re disappointed, disappointed on his behalf and disappointed for our members and fans with how we played.”

The Eagles coach wouldn’t allude to whether a change of system or personnel was needed, but said a breakdown of system was partly to blame for the side’s poor showing.

“The second quarter was really disappointing, defensively poor and offensively there were some poor decisions made as well and then we were chasing our tails for the rest of the day,” he said.

“The failure to execute our instructions, obviously they were controlling the ball a bit with uncontested marks, I thought our transition was poor and we got outrun.”

Liam Ryan won’t return next week, while Luke Shuey and Tom Barrass are outside chances, according to Simpson.

Hurn is the first man to play 300 AFL/VFL games for the West Coast Eagles. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)Source:Getty Images

Collingwood gave its fans a delicious taste of the future and West Coast an anxious next three weeks on the back of a 45-point smashing.

The Pies’ faster and braver ball use under Robert Harvey was on full show, owning the corridor and opening up their forward 50, taking 18 marks inside 50.

Collingwood was able to control the ball and showed West Coast up with its superior work rate around the ground on their way to 155 uncontested marks.

While West Coast’s fate remains in their own hands, they face a nervy few weeks ahead with GWS, Richmond, Essendon and Carlton pushing for their spot inside the top-eight.

Collingwood got its customary jump on the Eagles in the first quarter on the back of brave and precise ball movement.

The Pies looked inside whenever they could, but importantly didn’t use the corridor for the sake of it. Stand-in skipper Steele Sidebottom, Jamie Elliott, Will Hoskin-Elliott kicked goals before Jack Ginnivan nailed a 50-metre bomb for the first goals of his career to give Collingwood a 21-point quarter-time lead.

If Pies supporters thought they were in dreamland in the first quarter they hadn’t seen anything yet.

Collingwood played its best footy of the season during a six goal to one second term.

Stalwarts Taylor Adams, Jack Crisp and Steele Sidebottom, who had 11 touches in the second quarter, were all too much for the Eagles’ midfielders to handle, but it was the Collingwood kids who at times stole the show.

A perfectly weighted Finlay Macrae left foot pass to Brody Mihocek landed between four players where only the Magpie forward could mark it, while a Ginnivan pass to Ollie Henry inside 50 resulted in a goal for Collingwood. Add Trent Bianco’s goal and Isaac Quaynor’s rebound from 50 and it was the perfect black and white quarter.

The young Pies tired in the second half as West Coast added some respectability to the scoreboard, kicking five of the last eight goals.

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