West Coast coach Adam Simpson reflects on Saturday night’s loss to Adelaide …
On his team’s last-quarter fade-out …
“We were disappointing in the last quarter, to say the least. I didn’t really see it coming. I knew it was a tough game (but) I thought we were up for the fight. One thing I can say about our players is that, for the most part, we fight it out.
“To be three goals up at three-quarter time … I think we only had three inside 50ms in the last quarter. The stats just blow you away. There were some small signs on the back of that third quarter, but the game was sort of doing that (ebbing and flowing) a little bit.”
On why the Eagles dropped off so dramatically …
“We’ve really got to look at it in detail to get to the bottom of it, but it looked like … we just weren’t up for the fight. We just rolled over. (We left) too much to too few … and then our ball use … I don’t know what our kicking efficiency was in the last quarter, probably, in the low-40s per cent range, I would’ve thought.
“We just couldn’t get it back in the last 10 minutes and the game was done.”
On losing at home to a fellow top-eight team …
“I thought this game was going to be real big test for us to see where we’re at. Take away the interstate form, your home form – this was (a game against) a really good team on our home deck.
“We were there for three quarters and then in the last quarter we didn’t finish it off. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Adelaide. They just stuck it out.”
On how veteran defender Sam Butler’s late withdrawal from the team with injury affected West Coast’s match-up for Eddie Betts, who kicked a game-high five goals …
“We had some plans for Betts. A couple didn’t work out, but what did they have 68 inside 50ms? We had 35. It would have to be our lowest here for a long time. I think they still went at mid-40s in scoring efficiency (percentage). (With that) supply, eventually things crack.”
On where to from here for the Eagles …
“Tonight’s a good indication of where we’re at. We are exactly where we’re meant to be right now based on our form. We think we’re better than that but until we can play four quarters and everyone contributes for the whole game, it’s going to be tough.
“We’re pretty clear about what we need to do.”
