West Coast’s players couldn’t rise to Shannon Hurn’s milestone occasion and coach Adam Simpson insisted the Eagles had to get better “real quick” after a 45-point loss to Collingwood.
The Eagles were beaten comprehensively by the slick Magpies, who burst out of the blocks at the MCG and took an unassailable 50-point lead into the half-time break.
It was a poor performance to deliver in former skipper Hurn’s 300th match and Simpson admitted there was a feeling of letting the ever-reliable defender down.
“Probably (the mood is) as you’d expect it would be, there’s probably a little bit of guilt for a player that has served us so well for so many years, and he played his role again today,” Simpson said post-match.
“We’re disappointed, disappointed on his behalf and disappointed for our members and fans how we played.
“We need to reflect on it and we need to learn and we need to get better real quick.”
While inside 50s (45-42) and clearances (33-27) went West Coast’s way, the Pies dominated general play and had 108 more disposals and 66 more marks.
“I thought the first quarter, I don’t know how many inside 50s we had – we probably had our fair share – with no efficiency in our front half. Our inability to keep it in our front half was really disappointing,” Simpson said.
“Couldn’t stop their uncontested game and their run and overlap. They made the most of theirs, we missed our shots. The second quarter was disappointing, really disappointing.
“It was defensively poor. Offensively there were some poor decisions made as well.
“Then we chased our tails for the rest of the day as well. Really disappointing day altogether.”
Simpson said the Eagles would dig deep for answers ahead of a must-win clash against high-flying Melbourne in round 21.
West Coast is still holding onto seventh spot on the ladder but has left the door ajar to the chasing pack in the fight for the top eight.
“It’s pretty raw at the moment,” Simpson said.
“Got to go through the game and see where we failed more, address it with our players and then try and get better.
“The season is still alive, we’re still thereabouts but we’re not going to get far if we play like that.
“We’re honest about it, we need to own it and we need to get better real quick otherwise we won’t get far at all.”
