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Waste Coast: Coach rues fruitless season

West Coast coach Adam Simpson says he feels like the season has been a waste after his side were booted out of this year’s AFL finals series.

Sep 09, 2016, updated Sep 09, 2016
Eagle Elliot Yeo after the final siren. Photo: Tony McDonough / AAP

Eagle Elliot Yeo after the final siren. Photo: Tony McDonough / AAP

The Eagles’ premiership hopes were brought to an abrupt end after copping a shock 47-point hammering at home from the Bulldogs in last night’s elimination final at Domain Stadium.

West Coast made it all the way to last year’s grand final, and they were quietly confident they could repeat that effort after knocking off flag fancies GWS, Hawthorn and Adelaide in recent weeks.

But they were simply no match for a white-hot Bulldogs outfit, with the Eagles slumping to their biggest finals defeat on home soil, 14.15 (99) to 7.10 (52).

Simpson said he was proud of his team’s efforts to win 16 games during the home-and-away season.

But the nature of their finals exit left a sour taste in his mouth.

“Every time you lose a game like this in a final you feel like you’ve wasted the whole year,” Simpson said.

“The players are hurting as much as the coaches are and the supporters.

“You always think what could you have done differently in your preparation, and were they switched on mentally at the start.

“We need to reflect on the game and we need to improve over the summer.”

Simpson doesn’t feel his list needs much tweaking heading into next season, believing the bulk of his squad are strong.

But one area that needs urgent attention is the ruck.

With All-Australian Nic Naitanui set to miss most of next season, West Coast need to find an adequate back-up to support Scott Lycett.

Jonathan Giles filled in admirably late in the season, but the Eagles are keen on a more mobile ruckman to better complement Lycett.

Scott Lycett of the West Coast Eagles and Jordan Roughead of the Western Bulldogs during the AFL Elimination Final between the West Coast Eagles and the Western Bulldogs at Domain Stadium Stadium in Perth, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016. (AAP Image/Tony McDonough) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Scott Lycett and Jordan Roughead in the ruck contest. Photo: Tony McDonough / AAP

GWS forward/ruckman Rory Lobb looms as a key target for West Coast, but whether a deal can be done remains to be seen.

Simpson revealed Lycett, who had been battling a posterior cruciate ligament injury since midway through the season, will require surgery on his left knee in the coming weeks.

Lycett was clearly hampered by the injury in recent games, and he was hobbling early against the Bulldogs after copping another knock to the area.

“I thought the knock he got tonight probably knocked him,” Simpson said.

“You’ve got to roll the dice a little bit as well, so we thought we would with him.

“He was brave and he played the game out.”

Simpson played down suggestions the bye week before the finals was a major reason behind his team’s flop against the Bulldogs.

“We did hit the end of the season with momentum. But to say (the bye) was the reason why we were off tonight, it’s a stretch,” Simpson said.

“They were just too good for us… we were just beaten around the ball. Some individuals just didn’t produce as well.”

Eagles midfielder Chris Masten rejects any suggestion the shock loss was linked to the bye.

“I don’t buy that momentum thing. All a couple of extra days can do is freshen a few blokes up,” Masten said.

“We got some blokes to play that we wouldn’t have (without the bye) – they probably did as well.”

The 27-year-old, who had 10 kicks and 14 handballs in his 161st game, said he was unhappy with how he played.

He felt the players had trained well leading into the match after finding form in the final two months of the home and away season.

“We were up and down this year but I think the way we finished off the year was pretty good… we felt like our best could beat anyone,” Masten said.

“We expect to play really deep in finals and push for a grand final but we haven’t done that.

“We played below what we know we’re capable of and it’s going to be a really tough pill to swallow over a long summer.”

He said the Eagles were unable to handle the Bulldogs playing a “flicking it around, high-paced, high-octane run gun footy” that they knew was their style.

“We just didn’t rock up… and the Bulldogs were very good,” he said.

“They were cleaner, better in the contest, we were beaten in pretty much every area on the ground.

“You are not going to get close when the game is like that.”

-AAP

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