WEST Coast coach Adam Simpson says responsibility for Sunday's ugly 10-goal loss to a tougher Hawthorn team starts with him and ends with the players, conceding the team was outworked on its home ground and beaten by what it knew.
The Eagles failed to challenge the Hawks and kicked their second lowest score of the season, breaking down in the midfield and forward half to lose their third consecutive home game and eighth match in nine weeks.
EAGLES v HAWKS Full match coverage and stats
They also look likely to lose ruckman Matt Flynn to an ankle injury and potentially star defender Jeremy McGovern, who finished the game on the bench with his thumb strapped and will need to be assessed this week.
"You can point the finger at a lot of players today, but I'd rather you just point it [at the] collective and it starts with me and finishes with the players," Simpson said on Sunday night.
"Nothing good came out of today. [We were] disappointing in every facet from the start to the finish, and the Hawks were really good.
"The things we've been chasing from the start of the year, the little things, were not there, and until we get consistent at those things, we're going to struggle. We are disappointed. I think on paper the team looked pretty good, but we got taught a lesson in workrate today."
The Eagles were smashed at the coalface, losing clearances 38-19 and centre clearances 14-4, with Simpson "bitterly disappointed" the team could not get a foothold in the area for any period of Sunday's match.
With four tall forwards in the team, the coach said it was hard to judge that structure given supply was limited with 33 forward entries, with the Eagles taking just four marks inside 50 to the Hawks' 22.
They will likely lose Flynn to an ankle injury, however, forcing Bailey Williams back into the No.1 ruck role for next week's clash against Melbourne in their first game at the MCG this season.
"I'm assuming he'll miss a few weeks at a minimum," Simpson said of Flynn.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell said his team took a step forward with its first win for the season away from its Melbourne and Tasmanian bases, extending its winning run to five matches to now sit half a game outside the top eight.
The coach said it was now important for the Hawks to maintain confidence without dropping their guard as they enter a phase of the season where every match matters.
"We deserve to feel confident, but that doesn't give you the right to be complacent and that sometimes can be a fine line," Mitchell said.
"I love that our players play with an enormous amount of confidence, and so long as we keep it as confidence and not as complacency then I'm all for it.
"I think that's when we've played our best footy and that's going to continue to be a challenge for us over this next block."
Mitchell said captain James Sicily had been on standby to return from a shoulder injury he suffered late in the third quarter if required, but the Hawks chose to put him on ice and he would now be assessed following the innocuous injury in a marking contest.
Asked if the Hawks belonged in the top eight mix, Mitchell said the 8-7 team deserved to be where it is after 15 games after finding more recent consistency following an 0-5 start to the season.
"Certainly in my coaching time, we've never been in a position like this where every game really matters for your season," Mitchell said.
"So that continues to be a challenge for us and the boys are thriving under that environment at the moment.
"(But) I still watch the best teams in the competition and think, you know, they're a bit ahead of us right at this moment."
