WEST Coast's premiership defence is over and coach Adam Simpson says the club is "hurting" for Willie Rioli after his shock provisional suspension due to a possible anti-doping violation.
The Eagles were knocked out of the finals by an impressive Geelong on Friday night, with the Cats overturning a four-point deficit at three-quarter time to win by 20 points.
Geelong had started the clash in red-hot form, jumping to a 25-point lead at the first change, before the Eagles gradually clawed back to regain the lead but ultimately succumbing in the final term.
They had already received a blow pre-game, when on Thursday premiership forward Rioli was ruled out of the semi-final clash after being advised there had been an adverse finding in his ASADA test from August.
A substance other than urine was produced as part of the testing process. Simpson said he couldn't measure the impact of the sudden suspension on his team.
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"I don't know, it's hard to tell. They're human and we care about Willie and we still do. We addressed it on Wednesday night. We looked pretty tight and pretty galvanised but we're hurting, we're hurting for him," Simpson said post-game.
The Eagles only learned of the incident after touching down in Melbourne prior to the do-or-die MCG clash. Simpson, who has spoken to his player, also praised his leaders for their temperament in a challenging situation.
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"We knew nothing until Wednesday night. We found out when they (the AFL) arrived at the hotel. We were really worried about his mental health and making sure he's got that family support around him," he said.
"He's a gentle soul, a lovely man, [has] a partner with a child and another one on the way. We're just throwing our arms around him at the moment."
The Rioli drama cast a shadow over the Eagles dropping out of the premiership race, as they failed to make the final four after last year's premiership heroics.
Simpson said his team "had a swing" at Geelong after the slow start and was pleased with the Eagles' endeavor on enemy territory, but said the Cats' consistency proved too much to handle.
Their bid for back-to-back flags now over, Simpson lamented patches of poor form throughout the year that cost the Eagles a top-four spot, including losing the final two games of the season.
In particular, the round 23 defeat to Hawthorn at Optus Stadium proved a dagger in their premiership hopes after pushing them to fifth spot on the ladder.
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"We had some inconsistencies throughout the year. I thought we probably deserved to finish fifth. It was a rough start to the season, we found our way and we won eight out of nine, and we've lost the last three out of four games. So we've fallen away in the last month," he said.
"We've been up for a long period of time but that's not really an excuse. Teams have managed to handle that before.
"Some critical games cost us top-four opportunities, and for a team interstate, if you don't finish top-two you're not getting a home final unless Fremantle is in there.
"We understand how important it is [to finish in the top four] but we still had a lot of confidence and I felt really good about this group, and if anyone could do it from fifth I thought we could. And our players truly believed that, and unfortunately it didn't work out."
