West Coast slumped to their fifth triple-figure defeat of the season with Fremantle dominating Saturday night’s Western Derby with a 134-33 win.
As well as their poor performance on-field, the Eagles have been put under the spotlight for their actions off it by Kane Cornes.
Eagles youngster Brady Hough was withdrawn from the clash last minute after club doctors suggested he was at risk of breaching the permitted limits for his asthma medication.
Hough was only taken out of the game 30 seconds before the bounce and Cornes was shocked to see the Eagles name the 20-year-old given he didn’t train all week due to illness.
“The start of this game was delayed because West Coast didn’t get their team sheet in correctly,” Cornes said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
“Brady Hough was a late withdrawal, there was confusion on the bench. In the end, he was taken out of the lineup 30 seconds before the game was set to start.
“He hadn’t trained all week, he’d been ill, but they chose to select him and in the end, they withdrew him 30 seconds before (the bounce).
“No one knew what was going on.”
Coach Adam Simpson explained the situation post-match stating that the Eagles simply didn’t want to take the risk, but Cornes found it laughable that the club again found itself in an embarrassing position.
Cornes believes this was just another example of poor standards that have plagued West Coast in recent seasons.
“The whole thing is laughable, the whole club is a joke, they’re an absolute embarrassment,” Cornes said.
“Last week it was not getting your structures and situations right with a minute to go.
“This week it’s the amateurish vision we’ve just seen there … this is Brady Hough, not Chris Judd. If he hasn’t trained all week don’t play him.
“Then after that, they go on to concede 17 consecutive goals and it was Fremantle’s biggest ever win in a Derby.
“The standards at that footy club for three years have been so much removed from what an AFL club should be. There’s just another example.”
With the Eagles now holding a 2-19 record on the season with a percentage of just 50.6, Cornes is shocked that Simpson has been able to hold onto his job amidst such a horror campaign
“No coach in world sport would survive a record like this. I’m just waiting for something to give at that footy club,” Cornes said.
“The only person that’s paid the price for three years of mediocrity is their fitness man.”
West Coast CEO Trevor Nisbett told SEN during the week that he expects Simpson to be the coach of the club in 2024.
The Eagles face the Bulldogs next Sunday at Marvel Stadium before finishing their season with a clash at home against Adelaide.
"The whole thing is laughable. The whole club is a joke, they're an absolute embarrassment."@kanecornes on the 'amateurish' scenes as Brady Hough was withdrawn only moments before the Derby, which saw the Eagles suffer their largest ever loss to Freo. #9AFLSFS | Channel 9 📺 pic.twitter.com/SOVkarmy7V
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) August 13, 2023