Adam Simpson’s assessment of his side’s drubbing by Hawthorn – “we won’t treat it like a catastrophe” – was an incredibly sobering aftermath to a match that had been a genuine opportunity to notch win number four in 2024. With the return of club champion Tim Kelly and rising star Harley Reid back from suspension, this was meant to be the best version of West Coast in 2024. What eventuated was so far from it.
Elliot Yeo of the Eagles leaves the field after the team’s defeat. Credit: Will Russell/AFL Photos via Getty Images The 61-point, good old-fashioned flogging lit-up talk-back radio, one after another caller venting their frustration, calling for players to be dropped, others going further and calling for the club to end Simpson’s 11-year reign. It was the Eagles’ third straight home defeat, all against teams in the bottom six.
But it was the manner of how it unfolded that left questions over attitude and application. West Coast were smacked from beginning to end by a far hungrier, desperate and tougher outfit. The Eagles recorded season-worst differential counts in disposals (-148), clearances (-19) and marks inside 50 (-18).
They were belted at the source and on the spread, losing the contested and uncontested possession totals easily, pointing to work-rate issues, while having simply no answers to stopping Hawthorn’s superior running capabilities. The alarm bells rang early around issues with supply, the visitors with the first seven forward entrie.
