West Coast coach Adam Simpson won’t get sucked into a false sense of security as the Eagles prepare for the AFL grand final against Collingwood.
Melbourne were bundled out of the premiership race on Saturday after copping a humiliating 66-point preliminary final loss to West Coast at Optus Stadium.
The Demons entered the match full of confidence after beating West Coast in Perth just five weeks earlier.
But their hopes of pulling off another victory were quickly extinguished as West Coast piled on the first 10 goals of the match to set up the 18.13 (121) to 7.13 (55) win.
The Eagles have every right to feel confident going into Saturday’s grand final after beating Collingwood twice this year.
West Coast beat Collingwood by 35 points in round 17 at the MCG and they posted a 16-point win over the Magpies in the recent qualifying final in Perth.
But Simpson says those wins mean nothing, especially after watching how ruthless Collingwood were in beating Richmond by 39 points in the other preliminary final.
“I’m not really buying into that,” Simpson said of the significance of the past wins over Collingwood.
“A lot of that was (said) about Melbourne as well – they beat us in round 22. But it’s just so different (in a final).
“When there’s a lot on the line, stakes have changed, conditions change, personnel changes . What doesn’t change is the way each teams plays.
“We know what Collingwood are going to bring and they know what we’re going to bring.”
The Magpies led Richmond by 53 points in the first half and Simpson praised their intensity.
Collingwood big man Mason Cox looms as a key figure against the Eagles after booting three goals and taking eight contested marks against Richmond.
But SImpson didn’t want to think about the 211cm American straight after the win over Melbourne.
“Can I worry about that tonight what we do with Cox?” Simpson said of Cox, who was held goalless from five disposals in the qualifying final loss to West Coast two weeks ago.
“Just let me take a breath. We played on him a couple of weeks ago and the boys did a pretty good job. But he did a few things differently (against Richmond) when I was watching.”
West Coast are set to ease Jeremy McGovern through training this week after the defender copped a knee to the body in the win over Melbourne.
Midfielder Luke Shuey (ankle) is also set to be on light duties early in the week.
