By Justin Chadwick
West Coast captain Luke Shuey is adamant the club won’t bow to external “agendas” that aim to bash the Eagles and see someone get sacked.
Eagles great Glen Jakovich was among the growing calls for coach Adam Simpson to step aside following Sunday’s 116-point loss to struggling Hawthorn in Tasmania.
Adam Simpson’s role at the Eagles has been called into question during this dismal season.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
The defeat – the heaviest in Simpson’s 10-year reign – dropped West Coast (1-9) to last spot on the ladder with a woeful percentage of 55.4.
The team’s dire form follows last year’s disaster, in which injuries and illness devastated the Eagles on the way to a franchise-worst season return of 2-20.
West Coast’s injury curse has been even worse this year, with the Eagles missing 10 of their best 15 players in the loss to Hawthorn.
Shuey is among the walking wounded, joining the likes of Nic Naitanui, Liam Ryan, Jeremy McGovern, Elliot Yeo, Jamie Cripps, Shannon Hurn, Tom Cole and Jack Darling on a star-studded injury list.
Simpson is contracted until the end of 2025, but there are growing calls for him to be sacked.
There are also calls for chief executive Trevor Nisbett to step down.
Nisbett has been at the club since 1989, and was elevated to the chief executive role in 1999.
Shuey is backing premiership coach Simpson and the rest of the club’s hierarchy to guide the team back to success.
“What’s said externally has no impact inside these four walls,” Shuey told reporters on Tuesday.
“I get the narrative people are going after and the agenda that might be being chased externally – bash West Coast while they’re down and try to get someone sacked maybe.
“But you’re not going to get any clickbait with that sort of stuff from our players at the moment.
“We’re fully confident with who we have here. I’ve never seen a more driven group to turn this around, and I wouldn’t want to be doing it with anyone else.”
Shuey, who hopes to return from an ankle and hamstring injury within the next fortnight, labelled his team’s performance against Hawthorn as horrible.
“We’re hurting, and we’ve been hurting all year. We’re not satisfied where we are at,” the third-year skipper said.
“It was another punch while we’re down on the weekend, but we’re working hard to turn things around.
“I just hope people can be patient and hang in there with us.”
Shuey likened the current situation to the team’s wooden spoon campaign in 2010.
West Coast rebounded from that 4-18 season to finish fourth on the ladder the following year.
“It’s very similar. A lot of people externally probably don’t feel that way,” Shuey said.
“I’m confident we’re on the same path all those years ago.
“I’m still buoyant – we’ve seen teams turn things around really quickly.
“I get some people might say we don’t have the talent Collingwood had three years ago when they finished 17th.
“But you can turn things around so quickly in this game.”
Shuey is out of contract at the end of this season.
The 32-year-old says he is putting his full attention into stringing together 10 or 11 games in the back half of the year before contemplating his future.
AAP
