West Coast coach Adam Simpson has declared veteran Andrew Gaff will return to the beginning 22 subsequent week to face Carlton after he got here on because the sub and had 24 disposals in opposition to Richmond.
The Eagles misplaced 14.14 (98) to eight.12 (60) however Gaff responded to his six possessions in opposition to Brisbane together with his highest tally since spherical eight. It was additionally the primary time since spherical eight that he frolicked within the centre sq..
Simpson mentioned Gaff’s step ahead confirmed he must be in the primary line-up once more.
“Yeah. He improved today,” Simpson mentioned.
“It was about Gaffy getting the ball, but also his confidence that he’s still got it. As a player, sometimes you question it. Until you get some evidence, it’s hard to shake it. Hopefully there’s some evidence there today.
“I get the criticism of Gaff and Gaff has been struggling a little bit but I thought he was excellent when he came on.
“Today he got on the inside a little bit, he looked like he was on top of the ground so hopefully it’s a step forward to get him back into form. We still value what he does for us.”
Gaff got here onto the bottom throughout the first quarter after Reuben Ginbey injured his hamstring. The 31-year-old mentioned it had been a difficult time personally.
“I clearly haven’t been at my best for a little while now, but all I can do is knuckle down, work hard and improve as a player each day,” he informed 6PR
“I’d be silly to think I shouldn’t be playing better than I have been, so I couldn’t do much more than get on with training, get on with each day and put my head down and work hard.”
On a day the place Jack Darling kicked his five hundredth profession aim, Richmond seized management throughout the third time period with 4 fast targets to guide by 42 factors. The Eagles scale back the deficit to 26 factors within the final quarter however Richmond’s expertise stood out.
“There were patches there where we were poor and patches of resilience which was great,” Simpson mentioned.
“I think we had 50 inside 50s which we’ve struggled to get and might have won scores from turnovers. But we had lapses. We looked quite flat at stages.
“But for the players to work through it and then respond – the pressure was up, there was contested ball and field position – we’re working really hard for that. But we’re disappointed we didn’t win.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
