Eagles' Melbourne hoodoo a mental battle

Jun 29, 2017 - 5:49 AM West Coast coach Adam Simpson believes his team's demons in Melbourne are a mental issue and he hopes they will be banished in Saturday's AFL clash with the Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium.

The Eagles have lost eight of their past 10 games in Melbourne - a worrying trend that has jeopardised their premiership hopes.

Two of West Coast's worst performances this season were in Melbourne: a 50-point loss to struggling Hawthorn at the MCG, and a 61-point defeat to Essendon at Etihad Stadium.

West Coast have tried to turn around their fortunes by changing things in their itinerary such as when they travel, what they eat, how they conduct the captain's run and what they do in their down time.

But Simpson is convinced the No.1 issue is his side's mental approach to games in Melbourne.

"We're always looking on how to prepare a little bit differently," Simpson said.

"But you sort of dismiss that a tiny bit - it's how you prepare mentally that's really important and what kind of method you want to play is the main part.

"Win, lose, or draw - we really want to have a solid effort with how we go about it mentally and how we go about it combating the premiers."

West Coast's top-four hopes are hanging by a thread following four losses from their past five games.

And they have been dealt several injury blows heading into this weekend.

Skipper Shannon Hurn (concussion), midfielder Matt Priddis (soreness), Josh Hill (illness) and Will Schofield (hip) have been ruled out, joining Josh Kennedy (calf) and Mark LeCras (hip) on the sidelines.

Experienced quartet Sharrod Wellingham, Chris Masten, Jack Redden and Sam Butler return but ruckman Scott Lycett will spend at least one more week in the WAFL to build up more match fitness.

The Bulldogs made just one change, recalling veteran Bob Murphy to replace Tom Liberatore (cork).

Meanwhile, Simpson said no decision had been made on the future of veteran midfielder Sam Mitchell.

Mitchell, who joined West Coast from Hawthorn at the end of last season, has been one of the Eagles' best players.

Simpson said any decision would be based on the club's list management strategy and how the Brownlow medallist was faring mentally and physically.

Source: AAP