West Coast has been slammed for "playing like sooks" after losing their second match at home in three matches, this time against the Western Bulldogs.
Billed a blockbuster in the lead-up, the Eagles failed to adjust to the wet conditions early as the Bulldogs secured a commanding 13. 20. (98) to 6. 7. (43) win at Optus Stadium.
The match was relatively even through three quarters, before the Bulldogs blew the home side off the park with a six-goal-to-one final quarter.
The Eagles have continually run teams off the park in Perth, but were well off the pace as Geelong premiership great Cameron Mooney unloaded on the team's tactics.
"They played like sooks today. They were embarrassing," Mooney said on Fox Footy's coverage.
"They chipped it around, they were nice, they didn't defend hard. Adam Simpson has given them cooks over the last few weeks in his press conference; I'd be disappointed if he didn't go again, because they were very ordinary."
The wet weather was particularly not suited to West Coast's two forward pillars, Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling, and the pair were singled out for some heavy criticism.
"Where are the Eagles forwards? They're playing goal-side; that is 90 metres off the scrimmage," Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton told Fox Footy.
"That is dumb football for two seriously smart players.
"The kick in, the boy running down the spine for the Eagles waving the arm saying 'kick it to me' – you can't kick it 90 metres on a wet day.
"Come to where the player can get it to you, engage him, and come towards the footy."
While the Eagles were extremely disappointing, the Bulldogs were anything but, as skipper Marcus Bontempelli further cemented his status as this year's Brownlow favourite.
Bontempelli was sublime from the first bounce, finishing with 29 disposals and three goals, while running mate Jack Macrae's 32 disposals saw him extend his 30+ disposal streak to 14 games.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the win did not come without an injury blow, with defender Ryan Gardner suffering a shoulder injury.
The win leaves Luke Beveridge's team outright second on the ladder, four points clear of the third-placed Brisbane Lions, while the Eagles maintained their seventh spot due to other results.
West Coast will face a trip to Victoria for Round 16 when they face the Sydney Swans at GMHBA Stadium, while the Bulldogs will host North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.