WHETHER next Sunday is Josh Kennedy's final home game at Optus Stadium will be a decision for the champion forward, says West Coast coach Adam Simpson.
The 34-year-old premiership star is out of contract at season's end and was rested from making the long trip east for Sunday's loss against Gold Coast.
The Eagles host Adelaide next Sunday before being the away team in the round 22 Western Derby against Fremantle and a final round trip to Geelong.
If Kennedy finishes his West Coast career at season's end, his 293rd career game next week has the potential to be the perfect farewell under the Eagles' watch.
SUNS V EAGLES Full match details and stats
"That’s up to him," Simpson said on Sunday afternoon.
"I’ll let him work through it, it’s up to us, but I’ll let him guide his way through it.
"When the time is right for him to make the call, I’ll be stepping aside and let him do it.
"That’ll be in the future somewhere."
Without Kennedy, the Eagles gave the Suns all they could handle, whittling away a 37-point deficit to lose by just three points on the back of six goals to Jack Darling.
Simpson said they adjusted at half-time and "almost grabbed it" with better work around the contest.
"We didn’t play four quarters, but I still think the guys are playing with the right attitude," he said.
"Unfortunately after the first 15 minutes we lost our way for a quarter and a half.
"We were unable to stop that momentum.
"The last quarter was just on. The boys were taking risks and sometimes they were paying off and sometimes they weren’t. To go down like that is disappointing but we’ll grow from it."
The Eagles will assess hamstring injuries to both Jai Culley and Jack Petruccelle during the week.
Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew was delighted to win the close game, but said there were "plenty of lessons" after almost blowing it.
"When you end up winning it's a good one to put in your back pocket and move on, but look at the lessons learned," Dew said.
"There's a fair bit to take out of this game I think.
"Once they got their tails up they were really hard to stop.
"In the end we were under the pump and we lost connection, but then we were able to steady the ship."
Dew praised his team's ability to win a crucial centre clearance with under 40 seconds remaining that led to a Mal Rosas Jnr goal and a winning nine-point buffer.
"We came here to win and we won, but we can take a fair bit out of that because that could have gone either way," he said.
"After the lead you have, if it went too far the other way that would have been a disaster for us.
"It wasn't and we can look forward to next week."
