SANFL: Our good players played poorly, says Eagles coach Michael Godden

VETERAN Luke Jarrad’s lonely figure in the Woodville-West Torrens changerooms at 5:15pm Sunday night told the story best.

SANFL - Second Semi-Final - Eagles v West Adelaide at Adelaide Oval. Eagles coach Michael godden. Photo Sarah Reed.

VETERAN Luke Jarrad’s lonely figure in the Woodville-West Torrens changerooms at 5:15pm Sunday night told the story best.

Trainers and staff walked by every 30 seconds or so and gave the 31-year-old a pat on the shoulder but few said anything to him.

Few would have known what to say.

To describe 2015 as a wasted season for the Eagles would be massively under selling them.

In fact, they’ve set a new benchmark for the other teams to follow in terms of their professionalism and structure.

That’s what made Sunday’s lost to West Adelaide so tough to take.

The club’s reserves capped an undefeated season with the premiership, while the league side entered the decider with a 17-2 record.

But it counted for little as the Eagles simply failed to find the football against a ruthless Bloods midfield.

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By fulltime, West had 140 more disposals than Eagles unit missing its lead ruckman Marc Borholm (fractured tibia) and leading inside midfielders Angus Rowntree (knee) and Angus Poole (knee).

“We didn’t handle grand final day well at all,’’ Eagles coach Michael Godden said.

“That’s the reality. Even our good players played poorly.

“We pride ourselves on individuals breaking even in our positions. We don’t have to win them all, we just have to break even and we feel that today, I don’t know the numbers, but we wouldn’t have had too many that broke even.”

Godden said the journey at Oval Avenue was just beginning.

Eight players in the side were 23 or younger.

The evergreen Jarrad has already committed to going around in 2016.

All the signs point to the Eagles being in the thick of the premiership race again next year. But Jarrad knows as well as anyone there are no guarantees in footy.

Luke Jarrad and Jason Porplyzia. Photo: Sarah Reed.