West Coast is intent on being harder to play against and earning back respect as part of the mission to dig themselves out of a “little bit of a hole”, according to star midfielder Tim Kelly.
While the classy midfielder starred against Port Adelaide with 31 disposals and six clearances, Kelly didn’t have much support as the Eagles slumped to an 84-point defeat.
Determined to arrest their slide after a 1-5 start to the campaign, the Eagles are focused on setting higher standards and getting back on the winners’ list.
“Obviously we’re in a little bit of a hole right now, we’re not exactly where we want to be, we’re 1-5 and the last couple of weeks what we’ve dished up hasn’t been quite good enough,” Kelly said.
“The biggest thing for us is we need to get better. Standards need to get better, the way we train, the way we prepare for games and then the way we execute on gameday.
“That’s the main priority is just getting back to that, being harder to play against. I guess respect as well, we’re probably getting looked at right now as a bit of an easy target.
“It’s on us to be able to change that narrative and how we’re perceived by other clubs, so we get a chance to do that this week.”
While West Coast has faced challenges due to injury and the AFL Health and Safety Protocols, forcing coach Adam Simpson to turn to a club record 41 players in just six games, the team is looking forward.
“Our last couple of weeks have been very poor. We understand that, we know that and we’re working pretty hard behind closed doors, on the track and in meetings to make sure we can be a lot more competitive than what we’ve been,” Kelly said.
“It’s not ideal the situation we’re in, and we get that, but like I said we’re doing everything we can to get better and get a win as soon as we can.”
Following some external criticism of dual club champion Elliot Yeo, Kelly leapt to his teammate’s defence, pointing to struggles with injury which have severely limited his continuity in games and on the training track across the past three seasons.
The bullocking midfielder was only in his second game back from a calf complaint when he entered the AFL’s concussion protocols, meaning he will be sidelined again for Friday night’s home meeting with Richmond.
“I think you need to cut ‘Yeoy’ some slack there. He’s someone who has just had a horrible run, injury after injury,” Kelly said.
“This is a tough game we play and you need continuity.
“In order to find your best footy you need to be able to get into a rhythm, get into a routine where you play week-in, week-out.
“He just hasn’t had that luxury since I’ve been here, basically.
“We’ll stick by Yeoy, we’ll support him as best we can and hopefully he’s not too far away.”
Kelly also understands the battle for continuity, having suffered a nasty knee injury last season and then battling Covid and a hamstring at the start of this season.
“This year it was a bit frustrating, I felt like I had a really good pre-season and then obviously missed out round one because of Covid,” he said.
“Personally, I don’t feel like it had much of an effect on me but it threw me out of whack in terms of my routine, and not being at the club and being able to train with your mates.
“Come back, do a hammy, and I’m not really someone who does a lot of soft-tissue injuries, so it got me in that sense.
“On the weekend was the first time I’ve played back-to-back games, felt much better than the week before.
“That’s something a lot of our players are going through but we’re not using Covid as an excuse now, most of our guys have had it, and we’re sort of past it.
“Still dealing with injuries here and there but the team we pick is the team we believe is going to get the job done gameday, so we make no excuses there.”
