Mike Sheahan has slammed West Coast for yet another uncompetitive performance in Melbourne after losing to Essendon by 61 points at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, labelling them as “mummy’s boys”.
The Eagles have lost three of their four games played in Melbourne this year, with the club’s only win coming against North Melbourne in the opening round at Etihad Stadium.
Since then, the club has twice at the MCG to Richmond and Hawthorn along with their thrashing to the Bombers over the weekend, a stark contrast to their strong wins recorded at home against Fremantle, Sydney, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs.
Sheahan has been left bewildered by this difference in form between matches at home and away.
“They are mummy’s boys, there is no question about that,’ the storied football journalist said on SEN Breakfast.
“They must be scared to leave Perth Airport. They have had four visits to Melbourne: they beat North when North weren’t travelling well and they have lost the other three conclusively.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with this group, half of them are Victorians anyway.”
Despite the Eagles not facing another fixture in Melbourne until Round 15, Garry Lyon says that the Eagles must fight against their current reputation as flat-track bullies if they are to progress far into September this year.
“They have got to cop it right between their eyes,” he said.
“What they have to do is own their reputation and their reputation is a group of flat-track bullies who won’t play with anywhere near the intensity they play at home when they get on a plane or particularly when they come to Victoria,” Lyon said on SEN.
“Two weeks ago my point was they’re not nasty enough. I don’t think they’re hard enough on each other internally. I don’t think they demand enough of each other. And if I could be anywhere today in the football landscape I would be at the West Coast review meeting.
“I think they are an introverted footy club. When everything’s going okay on their home deck it’s comfortable and nice but where are the extroverts when things are going wrong?
“If you’re playing the West Coast anywhere other than Perth you’re going, ‘Let’s attack them, let’s ask the physical question, let’s take away their time and space so they’ve got no ability to just ease themselves into a contest’. Within eight minutes (yesterday) the game was over.”
West Coast next take on the GWS Giants at Domain Stadium on Sunday afternoon.