Adam Simpson has promised to drill down into team selection, training and West Coast’s system in a bid to get the season back on track.
While the Eagles’ tenure in south-east Queensland has been far from the standard they expect on the field, the season is still well and truly alive in a campaign with plenty of twists and turns still to come.
“It’s disappointing we haven’t really fired a shot since we’ve come back (from the season shutdown period),” Simpson told Channel Seven.
“Absolutely no excuses being over here. We’re in a really good environment.
“Training has been pretty solid, we have good availability, so there’s no excuses other than we have to get to work and get our system going and get some of our players in form.”
Simpson took a pragmatic attitude towards the fixture curveball of facing Sydney instead of Richmond this coming round, welcoming two days’ extra break before the next game.
The Eagles quickly flipped into a different opposition analysis, but are mainly looking inward to rediscover their mojo.
“To be honest, we need to get ourselves right. We’re going to focus on ourselves this week more than anything,” Simpson said.
The senior coach praised star forward Josh Kennedy for his efforts booting four of the team’s six goals against Port Adelaide, despite a scarcity of supply (36-48 inside 50s).
West Coast’s engine room lifted after Simpson threw down a challenge to respond to the Brisbane defeat, controlling centre clearances (15-6) and stoppages (35-23), but couldn’t convert that into a sustained territory advantage.
“I thought our midfield was OK, held up their end of the bargain. Unfortunately we didn’t get enough bang for buck when we went forward and we couldn’t keep it in our front half,” Simpson said.
“I think they’re getting better but there’s so much more improvement in all of us.
“We understand that, we understand we’ve let a few people down and we understand our situation so we’re doing everything we can.”