THE MESSAGE has come loud and clear from the West Coast leadership group with ruckman Dean Cox labelling the side' effort against Richmond 'disappointing, disgraceful and embarrassing'.
The Eagles surrendered to Richmond by 77 points on Sunday at Subiaco Oval, and Cox said the second quarter, during which they conceded 11-goals-to-one, was simply unacceptable.
It was West Coast's sixth loss by 10 goals or more this season and prompted the 26-year-old Eagle to draw a line in the sand.
"We let ourselves down again," Cox said on Monday morning.
"We've just got to be honest (and) put a line in the sand.
"The effort is unacceptable, the players need to take some responsibility for it, and the whole responsibility."
Cox had a bird's eye view of where West Coast was beaten. It was his 43 hit-outs that were being stolen by the hungry Richmond on-ballers, particularly in the second quarter as the Tigers tore West Coast to shreds, winning the term's clearances 16 to three.
But most disappointing for the ruckman - who was one of West Coast's best on the day with 23 possessions complementing his aerial dominance - was the lack of effort and accountability.
"They just hunted the footy," he said. "They wanted the footy a lot more than us.
"That's a very disappointing thing because in the end it doesn't matter if we lose and give 100 per cent, I think that's all anyone can ask.
"But the players aren't giving that. I suppose they're not listening to instructions and that's the most disappointing thing.
"It was (a lack of effort) and our indicators show that."
The loss leaves West Coast just 0.47 per cent ahead of Melbourne in the race to avoid the wooden spoon, but Cox said where the side finishes in 2008 was no longer the main concern.
The more pressing issue for Cox, and the rest of West Coast's leadership group, was to set an example for the club's young players both on the training track and on match day, with effort and selflessness a focus.
"You want some young kids to look at Kerry (Daniel Kerr) and these sorts of players and see exactly how hard they do work," Cox said.
"The only way to come out is to show character and grit and determination and excitement about coming to training and working on the areas that you need to improve.
"[During matches] you want sacrificial running, sacrificial acts that probably don't go rewarded on the stats sheet but as a side that's where we were so good in 2006. We've probably slipped away from that."
