West Coast have shot down reviews they held a disaster assembly at their headquarters to resolve the way forward for coach Adam Simpson and chief government Trevor Nisbett.
And the struggling AFL membership have been dealt an additional blow after scans revealed Tom Barrass has suffered a again fracture, ruling the star defender out for the remainder of the season.
The hearsay mill went right into a spin on Thursday when a few of West Coast’s senior figures and board members began arriving at Mineral Resources Park.
It got here on the again of accelerating stress on each Simpson and Nisbett.
Simpson is contracted till the top of 2025, whereas Nisbett nonetheless has yet another 12 months to run on his deal.
West Coast (1-17) are mired to the underside of the ladder on the again of a club-record 16-match dropping run, with a rising quantity of followers calling for change.
The Eagles have backed Simpson to remain on as coach they usually launched an announcement denying the operate on the membership was a disaster assembly.
“The West Coast Eagles wish to clarify an erroneous media report suggesting that a crisis meeting of the board is being held at Mineral Resources Park today,” the assertion mentioned.
“Some of the club’s executives and directors are engaged in a leaders lunch in a club function room with senior management of our corporate partners.
“The management luncheon is an annual occasion.
“Some guests at the function have also been wrongly identified in photographs as being club directors.”
West Coast face fellow strugglers North Melbourne (2-16) at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
A giant loss to the Kangaroos would heap additional stress on Simpson, however a win would give the Eagles hope of avoiding the wood spoon.
It was initially anticipated that Barrass and Jeremy McGovern (concussion) can be match to return for that match.
But each had been notable absentees when the group was launched on Thursday night.
West Coast have confirmed that Barrass, who fell closely on his shoulder and neck two weeks in the past, is battling a compressed fracture in his again that’s set to rule him out for the remainder of the season.
McGovern remains to be experiencing concussion techniques after copping an unintentional boot to the face two weeks in the past.
Captain Luke Shuey (hamstring) may also miss the match, however Elliot Yeo (hip) is an opportunity to return.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au