West Coast’s skills have been likened to an “under 14s” team with players “not even trying” in scathing criticism from their 171-point SCG horror show.
The Eagles fell to their fourth 100-plus point defeat in the space of eight games as they coughed up their worst-ever loss and their worst score conceded in club history on Saturday.
Fox Footy’s Leigh Montagna didn’t hold back in his analysis of the darkest day in West Coast history, calling out several experienced players for their “pretending”.
He showed clips from the first quarter where the likes of Dom Sheed, Jack Petruccelle and Jayden Hunt all failed in their efforts.
“This is the first quarter – very first centre bounce.
If you’re the ruck you’ve got a responsibility.
(Swan Tom) Hickey grabbed it out the first two centre clearances in a row,” he lamented on First Crack.
“These aren’t the kids … you see an experienced player in Jayden Hunt – look at the gap he’s got on (Errol) Gulden,” he added to vision of Gulden sprinting away to Hunt’s jogging.
“A young defender (Brady Hough) – I’m not sure what his mindset is early in this game to sit off Isaac Heeney and almost being a goal keeper which said to me there are some alarm bells here.
“Watch the ruck work – non competitive. And that’s from Bailey Williams who has played over 50 games now and he’s 23 years of age.
“Petruccelle just gets caught ball watching (as a defender) in his own defensive 50.
“You get to some real under-14s stuff – you can’t have five players all run to one player on the boundary line and think that’s modern AFL football.
“Some of the efforts from senior players – Petruccelle, that’s not even trying to make a tackle. I’m not sure what that is, not once but twice!
“You see Dom Sheed come in – I’m really disappointed with how Dom Sheed has been going – he puts up one arm! This is first quarter not fourth quarter.
“And you’ve got a 10-gamer in Noah Long who ran from the halfback flank – he ran past eight of his senior teammates to try and lay a tackle. That’s what should be happening from the senior players.
“Dom Sheed is one of those players running around at the moment who pretends he’s trying – particularly defensively but he’s not really and they are letting the senior group down.
“The rest of the team’s head dropped and they had no hope.”
The Eagles were so bad, they coughed up an 18-goal run at one stage before the final siren could end the bloodbath.
“It was horrible,” Fox Footy’s David King added.
“I look at guys like (Tim) Kelly and (Luke) Shuey who are running themselves into the ground.
“The harder they are trying, the poorer the result they are getting because they are trying to cover for everyone.
“(Swan) Luke Parker just ripped their hearts out – and this is the start of the match.
“He puts a shoulder into Elliot Yeo and he (Yeo) just doesn’t want to engage. Doesn’t want to go with him, trailing … it’s all mindset stuff. Are you actually engaging or are you just there?
