West Coast’s nightmare season has gone from bad to worse with the Swans equaling their record for biggest win in a 171-point flogging.
The Eagles were blown off the park right from the start to record their heaviest defeat in history, as Sydney brought up the double century with a 31.19 (205) to 5.4 (34) victory at the SCG.
West Coast coach Adam Simpson was asked post-game whether the results could be giving “psychological damage” to his young players with the coach cautious in his response.
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“It’s a good question, I’m not sure if 18-year-olds are wired that way so a winning culture is the best culture,” he said.
“So there’s no doubt that’s a challenge. We can’t do much about it, though. We can’t do anything about it so we’ve got to accept it and make the most of it and try and be more competitive because it was unacceptable tonight. It was embarrassing.
“I’m not accepting it, so there’s not much we can do outside of keep rolling up our sleeves, train as hard as we can and try and get better.”
Western Bulldogs great Brad Johnson believes Simpson will be under significant pressure following the shocking result.
“379 points over the last two games they’ve had kicked against them … Just absolute smashings. They went into the bye with a 122-point defeat, come out of the bye with 200-plus points kicked against them and a massive defeat again,” he said on Fox Footy.
“This is a big decision I think the West Coast Eagles will be weighing up over the next 24 to 48 hours.”
Johnson then clarified that decision revolved around Simpson.
“I think so … They’ve bought in with Adam Simpson, that journey will continue on, we understand that, but this just raises questions about where that journey goes,” he said.
Sydney dominated the first quarter with a 9.4 (58) to 1.0 (6) scoreline in its favour, the highest for the club since 1997 and equal third best in history.
West Coast made a slight fightback in the second quarter, but from there on in the bloodbath continued.
Heeney flies high
The century mark was reached quickly in the third quarter with AFL legend Gerard Healy commenting on how results are “unbalancing” the competition.
“They’ve got to find ways to make themselves more competitive,” he said.
“It’s unbalancing the season if you can go out and ramp up 10 per cent in a 120-point flogging. If you get the Eagles twice (in the AFL draw), it’s a genuine advantage.”
In the final quarter, Sydney brought up the double century through Hayden McLean before Isaac Heeney kicked the side’s final points with a behind.
Marnus Labuschagne was the last person to bring up 200 at the ground, with his effort against New Zealand in 2020.
Port Adelaide great and Nine expert Kane Cornes mocked Eagles coach Adam Simpson on Twitter while also tweeting “Save Harley” in reference to draft prospect Harley Reid who is predicted to land at No.1 pick.
Heeney finished the game with five goals while Logan McDonald and Joel Amartey kicked four each for the Swans.
The mammoth victory puts the Swans in 11th on the ladder, after they started the game in the bottom four.
West Coast has now suffered 12 straight defeats and will play St Kilda next Sunday.
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