Grand final spot would be ‘wasted’ on West Coast Eagles: Tony Jones
WEST COAST’s win over Collingwood in Saturday’s qualifying final was a “pity” according to Melbourne-based football journalist Tony Jones, who says a grand final spot would be “wasted” on the Eagles owing to their ‘poor’ record at the MCG.
Adam Simpson’s team will host Melbourne or Hawthorn in a fortnight, with the winner granted a ticket to the last Saturday in September.
West Coast has lost just three of 13 fixtures at Optus Stadium and overcame a first quarter injury to classy defender Brad Sheppard before toppling the Pies by 16 points.
Despite finishing second on the ladder, and having beaten all but two teams in the finals – Sydney, now eliminated, and the Demons – Jones feared the Eagles would falter on the big stage as they did in 2015.
“The great pity about Collingwood losing to West Coast on Saturday night is that West Coast is now very well placed to to go through to the grand final,” Jones, who hosts the Sunday Footy Show, told 3AW on Monday.
“I think it would be a waste of a spot in the grand final if they get there.
“They can’t perform at the MCG and we’ve seen that before in very recent times.”
West Coast’s last loss at the MCG came in April 2017.
The Eagles have won all four fixtures played in Victoria this season including their round 17 clash with Collingwood at the MCG.
In that game, West Coast was forced to cover the loss of Nic Naitanui who went down with an ACL injury at the start of the second quarter.
Adam Simpson’s team also notched a win against Hawthorn at Etihad Stadium, to go with victories over Carlton (MCG) and the Bulldogs (Etihad).
Jones’ comments echo those made by The Herald Sun reporter Jay Clark in August, who told the SuperFooty Podcasthe “dreads another West Coast grand final”.
“We saw them a few years ago against Hawthorn and they were obliterated by half-time,” Clark said.
“I just don’t think they can seriously challenge Richmond at the MCG, not without Nic Nat, (Andrew) Gaff and maybe (Josh) Kennedy.”
