Simpson devastated by Eagles AFL fadeout

A shattered Adam Simpson has promised a warts-and-all review into the club’s on-field woes after his West Coast side crashed to defeat at the hands of Collingwood on Sunday.

The Eagles were found wanting in the last quarter against the Magpies at Etihad Stadium, turning a four goal lead into an eight-point loss.

“Mental. Fitness. Personnel. We’ve got to look at everything,” Simpson said.

“We need to look at what happened. Find out why. Interrogate our players to a certain degree and and see how they’re feeling.

“We need to dig deep on this one.”

The loss was particularly painful given the stakes.

In a hotly-contested AFL finals race, this was an opportunity, against a side without a realistic chance of playing finals, for the Eagles to jump back into the top eight .

A win would have given West Coast their first back-to-back victories in two months. They next play bottom side Brisbane in Perth, which would have likely continued the side’s push to the top rungs of the ladder.

Instead, Collingwood’s spirit and attack on the ball carried the day.

The Eagles were bullied around the contest in a dispiriting display that ensured a fifth away defeat of the season.

Simpson said some of his team didn’t appear to be men for the tight occasion.

“They’re the moments you look forward to as a player and some players stood up and some didn’t,” he said.

“(The players are) devastated like I am.

“Today was a big game, there was a lot on the line. We let it slip. For three quarters were were pretty competitive … the contested ball in the last quarter was alarming.

“There’s a lot of frustration at the moment. We need to explore. It’s really disappointing and I can’t hide that.”

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