West Coast forward Josh Kennedy says the Eagles probably deserved to finish fifth after being inconsistent throughout the AFL season.
The Eagles’ flag defence ended last Friday night when they suffered a 20-point semi-final defeat at the hands of Geelong.
West Coast’s final-round loss to Hawthorn at home robbed them of a prized top-four berth which meant they would only get a maximum of one final at home.
The Eagles’ one-point home loss to Collingwood in round 17 also proved costly.
West Coast started the year with three losses from their first six games and then lost the final two matches of the home-and-away season.
“Inconsistency has been something that has riddled us this year,” Kennedy told 6PR.
“At the end of the day, we finished fifth and that’s probably where we’re at.”
Kennedy mirrored his team’s fortunes.
The two-time Coleman medallist booted seven goals against North Melbourne in round 19 and four in the elimination final win over Essendon.
But he also had eight games where he kicked one goal or less – something that only occurred four times over the previous two seasons.
“I was a little bit disappointed with a few games here or there,” Kennedy said.
“Just the inconsistency from me is probably one thing I’d label the year as.”
Meanwhile Willie Rioli’s provisional ban on the eve of the semi-final against Geelong sent a shockwave through West Coast and the rest of the AFL.
Rioli is facing up to four years out of the game after allegedly tampering with his urine sample during a routine ASADA drug test on August 20.
Kennedy says players at West Coast are well versed on the seriousness of drug testing and the procedures in place.
But the 32-year-old hopes Rioli won’t cop the maximum ban.
“Hopefully we’ll have a really good case with Willie. Hopefully it (the ban) is not that long,” Kennedy said.
“His health and wellbeing is something that we’re really concerned about at the moment and that’s what we’ll focus on.”