Once-mighty, West Coast’s recent record is analogous to Fitzroy’s in their death throes nearly 30 years ago, and club great Peter Sumich fears that as the new Tasmania Devils begin to crowd the recruiting scene, there is more pain to come yet for the Eagles.
“I see the club in the doldrums for a little bit longer,” Sumich said on Tuesday. “A fair bit longer, five-plus years.” He said there was more for North Melbourne to be excited about in the foreseeable future than West Coast.
He does not blame coach Adam Simpson alone, saying the problems at the club run far deeper.
West Coast kicked a miserable three goals in succumbing to the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium last Saturday, furthering a record that shows they have won just seven of 57 games since the middle of 2021.
In that span, they have suffered 21 losses by 10 goals or more, seven by more than 100 points.
Eight clubs have had their biggest wins over the Eagles in the past two years.
In Sumich’s estimation, the rot set in then when the Eagles gave up a wealth of draft capital to repatriate star midfielder Tim Kelly from Geelong.
He said he understood the temptation, since the team was still replete with premiership stars, but the price was too high
