Beaten Eagles set for harsh home truths

West Coast players are set to receive some harsh home truths this week as they deal with the fallout from Sunday’s 57-point thumping from Adelaide.

The Eagles conceded the first nine goals of the match on the way to the 19.12 (126) to 10.9 (69) loss, with a shoulder injury to defender Jeremy McGovern compounding their woes.

West Coast will still be able to secure second spot with victory over lowly St Kilda at Domain Stadium on Saturday night.

But Eagles veteran Matt Rosa admits the team will cop a fair whack this week when the review of the Adelaide game is conducted.

“The boys were super disappointed,” Rosa said.

“We’re going to review it like we do every week and there will be some home truths I’d say.

“(Coach Adam Simpson) is still remaining positive that hopefully it was just a bad game.

“But he also said that we’re probably going to cop our fair whack in the review and go through it and make sure we learn.”

McGovern was subbed out at three-quarter time after copping a heavy hit to his left shoulder in the second term.

The 23-year-old struggled to raise his left arm at times, but the club is confident he’ll be fit to take on the Saints.

“He was confident that he could have kept playing yesterday,” Rosa said.

“He’s pretty filthy he got taken off, so I think he’ll be right to go.”

The Eagles will be bolstered by the return of midfielder Chris Masten from suspension, while defenders Will Schofield (hamstring) and Sam Butler (hamstring) are also a strong chance to play.

Rebounding defender Sharrod Wellingham may need another week to recover from an ankle injury.

Should West Coast lose to St Kilda, they would likely drop to fourth spot – a situation that would pit them against Fremantle in a blockbuster qualifying final in Perth.

A win against the Saints would mean West Coast host Hawthorn in a qualifying final.

St Kilda have lost their past five matches to West Coast, and their confidence took a major hit after copping a 97-point hammering at the hands of Sydney last round.

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