AFL
3 months ago
“They were putrid”: Why Blues loss puts a “big dent” in Schofield’s West Coast chances
By Andrew Slevison
The West Coast coaching scenario continues to be shrouded in uncertainty and intrigue.
Many were expecting the Eagles to see off a depleted Carlton side in Round 23 which would have been a third straight win under caretaker coach Jarrad Schofield.
But West Coast folded badly to lose by 65 points, kicking just four goals in one of the most disappointing performances of a season that led to the departure of premiership coach Adam Simpson.
SEN WA Mornings host and veteran WA journalist Mark Duffield believes that showing has badly hurt Schofield’s chances of winning the job on a full-time basis.
“It doesn't help,” he said on SEN’s Sportsday.
“They'd been really solid for four of the five weeks that he coached, and they were putrid.
“As good as Carlton were, and well done to Michael Voss and well done to Patty Cripps and well done to Marc Pittonet in the ruck, and all the other guys that absolutely stepped up and led from the front and created an environment where they could live and West Coast couldn't live. That's a credit to Carlton.
“But jeez, West Coast, you would have liked to have seen them stand their ground, see off the barrage and then see if they could bring their key personnel in, given that Carlton was lacking so many.
“They just weren't prepared to see off the heat and I think it puts a big dent in Jarrod Schofield's chances.
“It doesn't rule him out because it's not exactly a Cox Plate field gathering to line up for the West Coast coaching position at the moment. I think a lot of people over east won't realise just how extensive and impressive Jarrad Schofield's coaching resume is. He’s a five-time WAFL Grand Final coach, a three-time premiership coach.
“He’s a very impressive coach, but having said that, there'll also be this feeling that they would like some fresh eyes on what's going on at West Coast, on the players, and that leans towards someone from the outside.
“I thought that ‘Schoey’ needed to win that game given what each club had on the park and the fact that they performed so poorly, I think it does put a big dent in his hopes.”
Without a clear frontrunner for the job, there continues to be some background swirling around CEO Don Pyke.
SEN WA’s Tim Gossage recently suggested that the former Adelaide coach should come out and confirm or deny if he actually wants the position
But Duffield has heard nothing to believe that Pyke, who has been the club’s chief executive since the beginning of the year, is showing not 0one iota of interest in coaching the Eagles.
“I asked Don Pyke that question when Adam Simpson stepped down and he said, ‘categorically, no’,” Duffield added.
“West Coast has suffered enough hits to their credibility over the last couple of years without the CEO deciding he'll jump in and become the senior coach like it's the Coolgardie thirds.
“At some stage they need to run a proper process, and let’s not kid ourselves, their major problem is their player list. They've got a massive hole between what's old and what's young and some of the older players, unfortunately, they pick and choose when they want to go really hard.
“They won a premiership, they've sort of been indulged for a little bit too long and they just play for periods, but when the whips are really cracking, they're not always around.
“There was only a handful that really wanted to stand toe to toe. I give Elliot Yeo some credit, and obviously the youngster Harley Reid was trying to fight fire with fire at times around the middle.
“There's not much defensive running goes on by any of them, and they get pretty badly exposed when a team swarms them like Carlton did.”
Despite there being some doubt around the Eagles role, four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson recently told SEN that he would jump at the job if he were an assistant coach looking for a senior gig.
West Coast finishes its 2024 season against Geelong at GMHBA stadium this Saturday afternoon.
