Co-captain Liam Duggan believes a quick six-day turnaround into a road trip to Geelong 'is probably a good thing' as West Coast looks to bounce back from Sunday’s disappointing loss to Carlton.
The Eagles’ final home game didn’t go to script against the Blues, with a flat performance failing to send-off retiring champion Andrew Gaff or honour 250-gamer Jamie Cripps in fitting style.
West Coast’s coaches and players reviewed the clash on Tuesday morning, with a collective let-down highlighted by interim coach Jarrad Schofield.
“It’s a tough one to reflect on. It was really disappointing, a big occasion for the footy club and a couple of our players. Disappointed with the output and result,” Duggan said.
“We’ve got to move forward. We’ve got one more to go and did a review then, had a look into it, learnt some things and we’ve got to bounce back this week.
“We play in four days’ time, so it’s a quick turnaround for us, which is probably a good thing, but disappointing day that we couldn’t finish on a high for ‘Gaffy’ and ‘Crippa’ in his 250th.
“There’s been a bit of a buzz around here. Obviously, the couple of weeks prior, two really good wins for us and it would’ve been nice to keep that momentum rolling.
“Where we’re at as a footy club and a team at the moment we’re going through these little periods, and we had periods of success for two weeks and we lowered our colours over the weekend.”
The Eagles haven’t enjoyed any success in Geelong since a famous 54-point comeback in 2006, losing eight-straight to the Cats at their skinny home ground.
With Chris Scott’s side needing to win to cement a top-four berth and finals double-chance, Duggan expected a huge challenge on Saturday afternoon (11.45am WST).
“It hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for us.” Duggan said.
“I think the thing about Geelong, wherever they play, is they’re just a good side. They have been for a long time.
“Talk about sustained success, they have done that for as long as I can remember, really.
“We’ve got a massive challenge. They’re playing for a lot this week, so that makes the challenge even greater.
“We’ve got a massive opportunity to redeem what we displayed on the weekend and finish this year off on a high.”
