West Coach coach Andrew McQualter admits it wasn't easy dropping much-loved Eagle veteran Jamie Cripps for Sunday's Round 7 clash against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
Cripps has played 261 games across 14 seasons at West Coast, having commenced his career at St Kilda (he played 16 matches with the Saints. He was a member of the Eagles' 2018 premiership side and led the club's goalkicking in 2025.
The 33-year-old forward has been down on form across his past two games, failing to register a goal in the Round 4 loss to Sydney and the Round 6 defeat by Fremantle.
"It was a pretty hard decision if I'm being really honest," McQualter said.
"Crippa has been such a valuable contributor to our team for so long, but he's just a little bit down on form over the last couple of weeks and we've had some guys that have shown some good form down at WAFL level so we want to reward that.
"We've given Crippa clear instructions on what we want him to go away and work on, and being the proud person he is, I'm sure he will."
McQualter said Cripps, while disappointed, took the news on the chin.
"Like most players in his situation, he was disappointed," McQualter explained.
"I mentioned he's proud...
"He took it, he understood.
"He'll play in the WAFL on the weekend, and being the person he is, I'm sure he will go about his business exactly the same.
"He's played footy for a long time and he understands the last couple of weeks he hasn't had his best games of football."
