Eagles destroy under-strength Bloods by 71 points, but West coach Andrew Collins due to make 'seven to 10' changes next week

AN under-strength West Adelaide was destroyed to the tune of 71 points by a confident Woodville-West Torrens outfit on Sunday.

Andrew Collins

WEST Adelaide coach Andrew Collins concedes it is risky - but maintains the decision to rest key players on the eve of finals will be the right call despite Sunday's massive 71-point loss.

The Bloods face Woodville-West Torrens in next Sunday's qualifying final at AAMI Stadium, needing to gain 12 goals on the Eagles after an undermanned squad stumbled horribly to Michael Godden's men at City Mazda Stadium on Sunday.

West was never in the hunt against a hungry Eagles side that was desperate to secure it's top-three spot and finals double-chance.

Andrew Ainger booted seven goals for the visitors and Lee Staple kicked four, benefiting from an unpressured midfield fluency of Paul Stewart, Nick Salter and Matt Goldsworthy.

In the end, Woodville-West Torrens finished the premiership season second, a win clear the Bloods, while West Adelaide was fortunate Sturt was competitive enough against Central District to avoid tumbling out of a crucial top-three position on percentage.

Collins was not dismissive last night of the heavy defeat, but had faith that a renewed structure built on "seven to 10'' inclusions for next weekend's rematch would close the gap under finals heat.

"We took a risk. We wanted to be a lot better than we were today,'' Collins said.

"I think it's smart list management. We've got a finals campaign and we saw the tempo of the game step up.

"We have probably one (injury) concern, but we'll have seven to 10 changes next weekend.

"We didn't have very good tackle pressure so it will be interesting to see how we go next week and whether our changes make a difference.

"But I was very impressed with the Eagles. No doubt, they outplayed us.

"I didn't want to see quite as many positives for them as I did, but their ball movement and skills were outstanding.''

As many first-choice players as the Bloods were missing, the Eagles were simply brilliant in a contest surprisingly open for a West Adelaide game.

They broke tackles, hit targets and bullied Westies from the opening bell.

The Bloods' vaunted defence was under siege early as the Eagles goaled through Staple and Powell inside the first eight minutes as they peppered the scoring zone. It was a theme that lasted the entire match.

While the Eagles' AFL-listed players led the way, the likes of Scott Lewis, Goldsworthy, Luke Powell and Marc Borholm were untouchable as Woodville-West Torrens racked up a whopping 62 inside-50s to 36.

"It's a confidence thing,'' Godden said.

"You can only play who you play. I know they were missing a lot of players, but that was their decision to make.

"To get some confidence in our ball movement was what we needed, so it worked out nicely for us.

"We're happy with that as a hit-out, and to finish second, we're rapt.''