West Coast Eagles coach Adam Simpson isn't afraid to keep throwing challenges towards his young players, eager to fast track their development as the Eagles sink to a 1-3 record.
Melbourne continued their fine form in Sunday's 63-point win at Optus Stadium, putting 19 goals on the board against a young Eagles side that lined up with eight players with less than 20 games of experience.
2022's Pick no.9 Reuben Ginbey spent plenty of time in the centre, as did mid-season pick up Jai Culley, contending against an accomplished Melbourne midfield.
With the Eagles facing a mounting injury list, Simpson is sticking to playing his young group, hopeful that AFL game time against strong oppositions will aid their development.
โI hope so. What's today worth? Four or five WAFL games. Reuben is learning a lot on the fly at the moment,โ Simpson said post-game.
โHe's had a pretty steep learning curve. The last couple of centre bounces we had kids in the middle - 18 year olds - against some class.
โWe don't want to break them. We've got to keep an eye on that. It's great having someone like Tim Kelly around. When Dom's around and Luke's around it really compliments what we're trying to chase.
โWhen they're on their own, there's going to be some challenges.
โThey're not going to be linear growth. There are going to be ups and downs with the kids. They've had one pre-season. We've got to be a little bit patient.โ
Christian Petracca shows his class ๐#AFLEaglesDees pic.twitter.com/mXKznXFS1J
— AFL (@AFL) April 9, 2023
The Eagles were forced into several changes in the wake of a costly Round 4, including key names Jeremy McGovern and Luke Shuey, leaving a prominent gap in star power between the two sides.
Clayton Oliver (34 disposals and 10 clearances) and Christian Petracca (29 disposals and three goals) excelled for the Demons, dominating the centre against an unexperienced mid-field group.
Despite the second-half blow out and subsequent 63-point loss, Simpson feels as though his side is on a different trajectory than the disappointing 2022 Eagles.
โWe feel like we're different,โ he said.
โWe feel like we're transitioning everything we're doing. We've got a platform that we've set at the club which is not a short term fix. We are in for the long haul.
โWe'll get some wins. We'll get some small wins and we'll get some losses but we're going to keep moving forward.โ
