West Coast has made eight changes for their clash with Brisbane on Saturday, including recalling defender Josh Rotham.
The depleted Eagles are huge outsiders to beat the Lions at the Gabba, with their preparation certainly less than ideal.
Four players are out through the AFL’s health and safety protocols, while three are injured.
However, their preparation was further soured by the revelation that Rotham and Jackson Nelson visited a Perth nightclub last week.
West Coast coach Adam Simpson couldn’t have been more clear when expressing his disappointment in the duo, saying he was furious.
However, with Simpson also absent due to protocols and stranded in Perth, stand-in coach Matthew Knights has made the surprising call to name Rotham.
SEN’s Andy Maher couldn’t understand the decision, saying it ultimately renders Simpson’s statement meaningless.
“I truly cannot believe this,” Maher told SEN’s The Run Home.
“There’s someone else… one of the emergencies.
“Matthew Knights clearly doesn’t mind, I’m staggered by that.
“(Rip up) the statement West Coast… I’ve got nothing.
“What are they doing? Josh Rotham is not going to make any difference in this game. He makes no difference to the bigger picture to what West Coast are doing and the reaction to what they did and to the words of the coach in the statement, Josh Rotham has to be out of that side.”
Port Adelaide legend Kane Cornes shared a similar opinion.
“You can’t bring him in,” Cornes told AFL Nation.
“They have access to 20 top-up players don’t they, it’s not going to matter whether he plays… he’s not going to be the difference between them being competitive or not.
“Just make a stand... at least set some sort of standard at the club.
“Absolutely they should go to the top-up pool and pick, rather than pick a player who was out at a nightclub when the last thing they needed was this embarrassment.”
West Coast enter the clash with a 1-6 record, having lost their last three games by a combined 256 points.