Kane Cornes has highlighted a pivotal moment that cost West Coast in their 71-77 loss to Essendon at Optus Stadium on Saturday night.
While the Eagles only led for a brief period in the second term, they stayed within touching distance of the Dons all night and had a chance to really make a charge midway through the fourth quarter.
That moment came with nine and a half minutes remaining on the clock with the scores 65-75, with key forward Jake Waterman marking 20 metres out on a slight angle where he’d go back to attempt his fourth goal.
Waterman never got the chance to put the ball through the big sticks though, as his forward teammate Jamie Cripps gave away a free kick as his teammate was about to go through his routine by dropping Dons defender Nic Martin off the ball.
Cornes spoke of the devastation that Waterman would have felt as the chance to really make a charge at the Bombers was taken away from him by an undisciplined action of his teammate.
“I love this for the season that West Coast is now competitive again,” Cornes said on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
“If you look across the board at the numbers, they matched Essendon in pretty much every key stat.
“Waterman is having one hell of a year and this was a pivotal moment … what is Cripps doing off the ball?
“Even Waterman said to him, ‘Don’t give it away’, you could see it.
“He was shattered. You can see that Cripps drops Martin and the free kick is reversed.
“What a big moment that is, you can see the devastation.”
Cornes described Cripps’ action as unforgivable and hopes that coach Adam Simpson gave the 32-year-old a stern talking to post-match.
“When you lose by such a close margin (it hurts),” Cornes said.
“You’re an experienced player amongst a young group, it is unforgivable.
“They held on with a minute to go (to get within six points).
“You’d be filthy (if you were Adam Simpson) … you’d say we cannot accept that from a senior player because they’ve turned everything around and are actually playing a respectable brand of football.”
Essendon’s win took the side to 5-1-2 on the season and they next face GWS at Marvel Stadium while the Eagles will hope to win their third game of the year when they head to the same venue to play Collingwood in Round 9.
"You'd be filthy."@kanecornes is full of praise for how the Eagles have become competitive again, but says the club shouldn't accept the 'unforgivable' Jamie Cripps brain fade that proved costly. #9AFLSFS | Nine & 9Now 🖥️ pic.twitter.com/tTd2kSb8q8
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) May 5, 2024