West Coast midfielder Liam Duggan insists Lewis Jetta isn’t to blame for last week’s three-point AFL loss to Melbourne.
Jetta had the chance to put West Coast ahead by 21 points with less than 10 minutes remaining, but he missed a simple 35m set shot.
Melbourne made the most of the reprieve by booting the last three goals of the match to snatch a famous victory, ending a 17-match losing run in Perth.
Jetta’s career appeared to be at the crossroads earlier this season when he was again dropped by West Coast for poor form.
But the former Swan has rediscovered his mojo in recent weeks, and was one of West Coast’s best players against Melbourne – despite his late miss.
Duggan said Jetta’s was only one of a number of missed opportunities by the Eagles.
“It (the blame) is definitely not on Jetts at all. It’s a collective there,” Duggan said.
“His form in the past few weeks has been exceptional.
“Jetts is at his best when he’s playing that free-flowing footy and using his skills.
“The boys are really happy with how he’s going. The challenge for him now is to hold that standard.”
The topic of staging has again hit the AFL headlines after Demons young gun Clayton Oliver dropped like a sack after being elbowed in the face by West Coast defender Will Schofield.
Schofield will serve a one-match ban by the match review panel if he accepts an early guilty plea.
The incident was classified as intentional conduct with low impact to the head, drawing a two-match ban.
Although Schofield was the aggressor, it’s been Oliver who has copped widespread criticism on social media for his over-the-top reaction to the glancing contact.
Oliver even got into a Twitter war of words with former Test batsman Damien Martyn.
Duggan says he feels for Oliver given the amount of backlash the Demons midfielder has been forced to deal with.
But he doesn’t believe staging has become a common occurrence in the AFL.
“We don’t want it to be a part of the game, and the AFL has made it clear. I don’t think it is creeping in,” Duggan said.
“The whole thing has probably been blown out of the water a bit more than what it needed to be.
“It’s for Clayton to handle now. Unfortunately there has been a bit of negative feedback for him. Whether it’s true or not, who knows.”
The Eagles (7-6) have slipped to seventh following four losses from their past five games.
They face a make-or-break game against the Bulldogs on Saturday at Etihad Stadium, but forward Josh Kennedy (calf) is no certainty to return.
Skipper Shannon Hurn is also in doubt for the match after being concussed in the loss to Melbourne.
