The West Coast Eagles know that Grand Finals are played in Melbourne, right?
Of course they do, they played in one as recently as 2015. However, their inability to produce in the AFL capital, and in particular on the MCG, has to be an alarming trend for Adam Simpson and the rest of the coaches box.
Sunday's loss against Hawthorn made the Alistair Clarkson's men look as though they came into the game with a 4-0 win-loss record rather than the exact opposite.
They had come off back-to-back 86-point thumpings, but you would not have known it.
The Eagles have often been courted as flat-track bullies, but maybe it's not even that.
A flat-track bully would've taken advantage of the Hawks.
Inclusive of their 2015 Grand Final loss, the Eagles have lost five of their past six games at the home of football while scoring an average of just 68 points per game. Compare that to their home record which stands at 14 wins from 15 matches (from the start of 2016) with an average of over 110 points per game.
Is their form at home compared to the MCG really worth a seven-goal difference? Surely not.
So what is it?
Is it the game plan? Personnel?
Is it the varying dimensions of the two grounds?
It could possibly be a combination of all of the above, but regardless of what it is, Simpson simply must find a way to win at the 'G.
Following the game, I crossed paths with an Eagles fan and asked him for his thoughts on the game.
"It's a long way to come for that shit", he replied.
Blunt, but accurate.
Away trips supporting your team, no matter what sport, can make for fantastic weekends away with endless memories, but why would you want to spend your hard-earned cash when your club is a completely unrecognisable team to the one you see at home?
Adam Simpson constantly reiterated he was more concerned about “our resilience, our resolve, our intent’’ in the loss on Sunday as opposed to his side's glaringly bad record on the MCG.
What makes matters worse for the Eagles is they have been fairly unsuccessful at the MCG for some time which makes you think not one person within the club has woken up to their poor record for the better part of the last decade.
West Coast won't play at the MCG again in 2017 unless they make the trip during finals football, which by then, their troubles could be compounded even further.
