West Coast Eagles thrashed by Gold Coast Suns in front of angry home fans

The West Coast Eagles have put out yet another grim display at Optus Stadium, thrashed in front of a livid home crowd.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - MAY 12: Andrew Gaff of the Eagles looks dejected after a loss during the 2023 AFL Round 09 match between the West Coast Eagles and the Gold Coast Suns at Optus Stadium on May 12, 2023 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

West Coast’s Tim Kelly has ripped into his own teammates in a searing half-time interview during the Eagles’ thrashing at the hands of the Gold Coast Suns.

The Eagles were down by 50 points at half time when Fox Footy’s Matthew Pavlich spoke to Kelly as he walked off the ground, asking what temporary captain Tom Barrass had told the group after a 53-8 second quarter.

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“Oh look, (he was) just telling us not to panic, but second quarter’s been a real issue for us, I thought we started the game reasonably well, but it just, really isn’t good enough mate,” Kelly said.

“Look, it is what it is, we’ve gotta come out this second half and give our fans something to cheer about.”

The Suns would run out 16.17 (113) to 6.7 (43) winners at Optus Stadium, with the undermanned Eagles languishing in footballing purgatory – lacking the bright sparks of their peers in North Melbourne and Hawthorn, and without access to their more experienced players owing to their extensive injury list.

The win marks the biggest ever win for Gold Coast away from home, while other records got added to with Charlie Ballard equalling the record for most intercept marks in a game with 10.

The Eagles are going in the wrong direction. Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Heading into the fixture, the Eagles had been averaging 113 points conceded per game, the worst by any team since 2017, according to Fox Footy on commentary.

Matthew Rowell, in the news recently for his dietary habits, led the way with 29 disposals, and told Fox Footy he was enjoying his game.

“I’m loving my footy at the moment, so proud of the boys tonight,” Rowell said.

“We had a good week last week against Melbourne, didn’t quite get the win, brought the form we brought last week and were able to get the win, so really proud of the boys tonight.”

"It just isn't good enough"

Tim Kelly's thoughts heading into half-time with a 50-point deficit...

📺 Watch #AFLEaglesSuns LIVE on ch. 503 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/c5Vwhmfd1e
✍️ BLOG: https://t.co/wIwUApYmk0
🔢 MATCH CENTRE pic.twitter.com/tR93asOI5c

— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) May 12, 2023

Have to feel for West Coast. Getting thrashed and ratioed at the same time. #AFLEaglesSunspic.twitter.com/GyloXfU1j8

— Andrew Wu (@wutube) May 12, 2023

POV: When the game is so bad you start getting nostalgic for old crowd marketing campaigns #AFLEaglesSunshttps://t.co/rufSIxPAKU

— Brad Hearne (@alterbrad) May 12, 2023

Social media savaged West Coast for their performance, with sarcasm in plentiful supply.

6 News’ Leonardo Puglisi remarked “Wow, some great Friday night footy offerings,” on Twitter, while another Twitter user called it “ugly”.

A lower than average crowd packed into Optus Stadium to watch the game, with the 37,000 fans marking an awareness from West Australians of the struggles of the 2018 Premiers.

Jack Darling played most of the game one-handed after an injury early on, while Liam Duggan (32 disposals) and Tim Kelly (26 disposals and one goal) battled hard for the Eagles.

The result relegates West Coast to the bottom of the ladder, ahead of a bottom-of-the-table clash against Hawthorn next week in Tasmania.

Originally published as West Coast Eagles thrashed by Gold Coast Suns in front of angry home fans