Josh Kennedy’s horror blunder sums up West Coast Eagles nightmare

West Coast’s season just keeps getting worse, with Adam Simpson’s men suffering an eighth consecutive loss in Adelaide.

Adam Simpson could hardly believe it.

West Coast’s horror season just keeps getting worse, with the Eagles suffering their eighth consecutive loss on Saturday afternoon.

And one debilitating moment late in the first quarter summed up their latest performance.

The Crows raced to an early lead at Adelaide Oval, scoring 32 unanswered points before West Coast finally had an opportunity to get on the scoreboard.

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Eagles midfielder Tim Kelly booted the footy inside 50 towards veteran forward Josh Kennedy, who had settled under the Sherrin next to the goalsquare unopposed, with opponent Tom Doedee slipping over and lying flat on his back.

But the 34-year-old inexplicably dropped the regulation mark, frantically retrieving the ball before kicking it towards the goal — missing from point-blank range for a behind.

West Coast coach Adam Simpson couldn’t hide his disgust from the viewing box, with his head sinking into his hands.

“That summarises what we’ve seen from the Eagles in this term,” Fox Footy commentator Mark Howard sighed.

“The coach can’t believe what he’s seeing.”

It was the Eagles’ only scoring chance in the opening term, with Adelaide boasting a 5.2 (32) to 0.1 (1) lead at quarter-time.

West Coast look like an interpretive dance troupe performing a work loosely based on Australian Rules Football. #AFLCrowsEagles

— Titus O'Reily (@TitusOReily) June 4, 2022

I’m not that sad about the decline of @WestCoastEagles but I can’t remember a team who have fallen this far this quick. Just awful to watch #Westcoast#AFLCrowsEagles

— Paul Johnson (@pjohnson_sports) June 4, 2022

West Coast managed to find some momentum in the second quarter with Jack Darling booting two goals to keep the Eagles in the contest, but the visitors couldn’t seem to reduce the deficit.

The Crows held a 35-point lead at three-quarter time, but in a late twist, West Coast started the final term with four consecutive majors to send a scare through the Adelaide camp.

But it was too little too late, with the Crows claiming a 13.10 (88) to 8.9 (57) victory to break an agonising five-game losing streak.

“I’d rather talk about the start than the finish,” Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks quipped at the beginning of his post-match press conference.

“We dropped away.

“We did enough work early to set the game up, but unfortunately we dropped away in the contest which is our one-wood, our DNA.

“I’m not sure this one’s going into the archives but we’ll take the four points.”

Darcy Fogarty of the Crows, Alex Witherden of the Eagles and Shane McAdam of the Crows. Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The Round 12 match was played in wet conditions at Adelaide Oval, with sporadic rain peppering the ground.

Rory Laird was Adelaide’s best player with 33 possessions, while experienced forward Taylor Walker booted three goals, as did Shane McAdam and Darcy Fogarty.

Both sides will enjoy a bye next weekend.

— with Jason Phelan, NCA NewsWire

Originally published as Josh Kennedy’s horror blunder sums up West Coast Eagles nightmare