Heat on the Eagles
West Coast coach Adam Simpson has laid down the western derby gauntlet to his players, saying they must absorb Fremantle’s renowned pressure tomorrow and allow the team’s new game style to flourish.
Speaking at this week’s annual SAS Resources Fund western derby breakfast, Simpson admitted he was not satisfied with how his players handled the Dockers’ pressure in their NAB Challenge clash.
He said tomorrow would be the time to show they had learnt a lesson and that their quicker ball-movement strategies could stand the test of a big game.
“We’re evolving and our style of play is something that’s a work in progress,” Simpson said.
“We’re continually getting challenged with pressure — can we stand up under pressure? That’s going to come this week.
“The first two games we’ve played, albeit that we won by a fair bit last week, it was a high-pressure game from our end.
“Going back in NAB three, we got challenged with a bit of heat around the ball and we didn’t stand up.
“I’m not going to shy away from that, it’s a challenge for our players to stand up under that heat. We’re the developing team looking for those challenges and we’ll get none better than this week.”
Simpson said ruckman Nic Naitanui had inspired the Eagles’ midfield brilliance in a 69-point win over Carlton last Friday night, but he expected a bigger midfield challenge against Fremantle.
“We’re developing in that area,” he said. “We’ve got some expectations where we’re striving for some consistency. Unfortunately, we didn’t deliver that in round one and we got found out.
“We’re not quite there yet in terms of where I want to see us, but on the weekend they responded and responded well.
“But we understand it’s a different challenge this week, probably coming up against the best midfield in the competition, in my eyes. So it’s going to be a real challenge for us.”
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon said he had come to embrace the “fierce rivalry” in western derbies since coaching his first one in 2012. He was proud of the way Fremantle had clawed their way back from the initial string of beatings at the hands of West Coast, but the early-season form of both teams would ensure the Domain Stadium contest would be hot.
“It’s been a very positive start with a tough draw,” Lyon said.
“We worked incredibly hard over summer and increased their volume of work. It gave us our best chance and it’s always good to get some momentum, but the challenges keep coming.
“West Coast, it’s their home derby and they come off a significant win and are full of confidence.
“I think it’s going to be one of the better derbies. Ladder positions mean nothing.”
