Nathan Buckley slams West Coast Eagles following loss to Carlton in Gather Round

Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has expressed his disappointment with West Coast, following their 71-point loss to Carlton, slamming the lack of leadership and effort across the board.

The Eagles recorded the fewest contested possessions in league history (since the stat has been recorded) on Saturday afternoon, as the Blues did as they pleased.

They’ve now slumped to 0-5 in Andrew McQualter’s first year at the helm and the lack of competitiveness already has alarm bells ringing for Buckley.

“That is a massive concern for me,” Buckley told SEN.

“Liam Duggan, who is one of the more experienced leaders there, he looked all at sea when he was dragged deeper towards goal, Oscar Allen, he’s just not playing great footy, the contest isn’t consistent, it isn’t sustained.

“The guys that are having the biggest crack there are Liam Baker and Jack Graham and they’re newbies and they’re probably doing it out of respect for the coach because they’ve got an existing relationship.

“The gap and the dearth of leadership on field at that football club, I cannot fathom. I just cannot see where that is going to turn around, and we’re talking about the mighty West Coast.

“It’s unfathomable what they are putting forward. Less than 50 per cent, when you look at their percentage, they’re uncompetitive against opposition and in the contest too often.

“(77) ended up being the least amount of contested possessions won since the stat has been tracked, and that includes shortened games during COVID.

“You can win a contest no matter how inexperienced you are, or how good the opposition are and it just wasn’t happening.”