Justin Chadwick
West Coast’s leaders have pledged to atone for last week’s 101-point loss to St Kilda when they confront fellow strugglers Richmond at Optus Stadium on Saturday.
Comeback wins over North Melbourne and Port Adelaide earlier this season sparked optimism the worst was finally behind West Coast.
But last year’s wooden spooners have come crashing back to earth over the past month, suffering big losses to Sydney (128 points), Geelong (46 points), Fremantle (56 points) and the Saints (101 points).
West Coast (2-5) possess the youngest and most inexperienced list in the league, but it’s the club’s senior players who have struggled to lead from the front.
Co-captain Liam Duggan has come under fire amidst a host of turnovers, while Jamie Cripps, Matt Flynn, Tom Cole, Harry Schoenberg and Matt Owies have all been dropped at times this season due to poor form.
All-Australian forward Jake Waterman has returned a wayward 12.20, and Liam Baker’s form has also been up and down.
Owies, Schoenberg and Cole have been recalled to take on the Tigers, and coach Andrew McQualter is expecting a big response from the club’s mature players.
“We had a really strong player-led review on Tuesday, so they’ve taken ownership of it and our leaders demanded a better effort in the game,” McQualter said.
“We think we’re getting a great output from our young players. They’re playing a high level of football.
“We’ve got to share the load and certainly our mature players and our leaders are really keen to atone for last week and really the last month.”
Waterman has built a reputation for his extreme accuracy, having kicked 149.79 leading into this season, but his radar has been off this year.
“Jake’s had the (equal) third most shots in the comp, so supply and the looks he’s getting is good – he’s just not quite been able to finish his work like he has in the past,” McQualter said.
“He’s normally incredibly accurate. He barely misses (at training). He’s working on it, and I’m sure it’ll turn for him soon.”
Richmond’s injury crisis has gone from bad to worse, with news on Friday defender Josh Gibcus will miss the rest of the season after straining his ACL in the VFL last weekend.
Although Gibcus won’t need a full knee reconstruction he will spend the next six weeks in a brace before undergoing surgery to stabilise his lateral knee.
Winless Richmond (0-7) expect the injury will rule Gibcus out for about six months.
It comes hot on the heels of Sam Lalor injuring his Achilles tendon at training on Thursday, with a firm timeline yet to be set on his return.
Toby Nankervis (hamstring), Maurice Rioli (hamstring), Hugo Ralphsmith (knee), Tim Taranto (concussion) and Josh Smillie (quad) are among the walking wounded on a 16-man injury list.
AAP
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