Nick Naitanui of the Eagles tackled by Brendon Lade of Port during the AFL Round 16 match between Port Adelaide Power and the West Coast Eagles at AAMI Stadium.
John Worsfold is a coach under immense pressure. The 2010 AFL season is in its infancy, but with his West Coast Eagles at 0-2 and a challenging road trip up ahead, he’ll be feeling the heat.
If the Eagles lose this Saturday to North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium, their campaign to reach the finals for the first time since 2007 could be in disarray.
0-3 has a terrible ring to it.
The pressure felt by Worsfold would be exacerbated by the non-selection of power forward and cult figure Quinten Lynch for their match against Port Adelaide last Saturday night. Many in football circles believe this decision contributed to their defeat.
It was indeed a baffling decision.
Small forward Mark Le Cras was left out due to injury, so Lynch’s omission was all the more questionable.
Other noted forwards such as Ben McKinley and Ashley Hansen weren’t considered, with Worsfold trialling a new forward structure by shifting defender Mitch Brown up forward to partner Josh Kennedy.
It was hardly the time to experiment.
Their clash with Port Adelaide was a game the Eagles needed to win to give them a psychological boost after falling away badly to Brisbane the week before, and to appease West Coast fans who were told that finals football was a reality this season.
While the experiment to move Mitch Brown forward was a valid one, Lynch should’ve still been included in the side and started in the forward 50. Worsfold could’ve conducted the Brown experiment by giving Lynch a rest on the bench, keeping three talls up front, or by moving Lynch into another position.
What would be most annoying for West Coast fans is Worsfold denying that Lynch’s omission was an incorrect one.
He mentioned that Lynch hadn’t addressed elements of his game that have been known to the player for a few years.
A few years?
It was a bizarre remark considering that Lynch has been a serviceable player in recent times.
The Eagles had noticeably more inside 50’s than Port and still somehow failed to win the game. The 60-37 inside 50’s count in their favour, coupled with the resulting loss underlined that Lynch should’ve been on the park as a forward target.
This telling statistic also highlighted that Mark Le Cras is crucial to their 2010 season, and that the Eagles’ skill level needs to be addressed immediately.
At least Worsfold has admitted to the latter.
In saying that, shouldn’t skill level issues have been ironed out during the pre-season? Their inefficient delivery into the 50m arc is a major cause for concern.
Brad Ebert is one player who needs to address his kicking skills. In his 3rd year he should be tearing opposition teams apart with the talent he possesses.
His out-of-bounds kick on the full when the Eagles were pressing for a victory was abysmal.
The Adelaide Crows were criticised for choosing Patrick Dangerfield ahead of South Australian football royalty in Ebert, but at the moment their decision is vindicated. Ebert is struggling to reach his potential whereas Dangerfield is beginning to blossom.
Another player who needs to work on his kicking skills is Eric MacKenzie. The coaching staff should be firing a rocket up him for his shambolic kick across the face of goals which resulted in a momentum-swinging six-pointer for Port.
He is becoming a decent stopper, though his errant kicking in the backline has cost them dearly before. These sorts of skill errors in AFL football are totally unacceptable.
Nic Natainui, Josh Kennedy and Shannon Hurn are leading the way for West Coast at the moment, however, if the Eagles are serious about playing finals football, the likes of Ebert, Tom Swift and Chris Masten need to step up in the coming weeks.
Masten in particular needs to become the elite midfielder they are grooming him up to be. During the pre-season, the West Coast hierarchy bragged that Masten was “training the house down”, but the 20 touches he accumulated against the Power was simply not a good enough haul for someone of his stated ability.
Also, it’s high time Daniel Kerr learns to shake a tag. He should be ringing his good mate Chris Judd for some advice if he hasn’t done so already.
After North Melbourne’s insipid effort against St. Kilda, the Eagles would be expected to win the game easily.
However, one week is a long time in footy – just ask the Collingwood gang and their run-in with the Demons last weekend. Kangaroos coach Brad Scott will be asking his chargers to bounce back just as strongly as Melbourne did.
This week Worsfold and his men face a stern test in what is a season-defining encounter. You could almost guarantee they won’t make the finals if they fail.
It’ll be interesting to see if Quinten Lynch boards the plane to Melbourne.
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