Andrew Gaff’s AFL career has come to an end with West Coast’s heavy defeat to Carlton at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
The 32-year-old recently announced he would retire at the end of the season and, after struggling with injury and form this season, received two farewell appearances.
He was the substitute in last week’s win over North Melbourne and played the full game in the Eagles’ 4.10 (34) to 14.15 (99) loss to the Blues.
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Gaff picked up 25 disposals — right on his career average — in his 280th and last game of league football.
Arriving on the field with his newborn child Harvey in his arms, he left it on the shoulders of long-time teammates Elliot Yeo and Jack Darling with Blues players sticking around for the guard of honour.
But in an extraordinary half-time address, club legend Glen Jakovich declared Gaff should have been substituted off without fanfare.
“West Coast have got no run. They’ve got no pace on the ball at the moment. There’s a sub player by the name of Jack Petruccelle,” he said on 6PR.
“This is where the match committee have got to challenge (interim coach) Jarrad Schofield and make the call.
“This is going to be too hard. I’d be subbing Andrew Gaff out. Today’s his day, it’s his final game, it’s a farewell game, gets the bouquet of flowers. What do you do? I’d be subbing — Gaff is getting absolutely disposed of.”
Pressed on why the Eagles would remove a player who will not determine whether they win or lose the game, Jakovich was adamant.
“They can still win this game. Yes they can. They showed it last week,” he said.
“They need that grit. But they need to make that hard, ruthless decisions. There’s a decision they’ve got to make right here.”
Gaff had 11 of his disposals in the first half before recording one kick and five handballs in the third quarter and six kicks and two handballs in the last.
“Today wasn’t the greatest result but happy to call it a day after today,” he told the Eagles website after the defeat.
“I’m (feeling) alright, it’s a little bit sad but also excited for just for something different, the next chapter of my life.
“I’ve been pretty busy this week with organising stuff for today, (retiring is) probably something that’s going to take a couple of days, a week, a month to probably sink in that footy’s done for me. Got to find my second ever job!”
Fellow veteran Jamie Cripps, also 32 but playing on next year, had one goal and a goal assist from his nine disposals in his 250th game.
He was chaired off by Jake Waterman and Liam Duggan.
“We’re really disappointed that we didn’t really turn up,” Schofield said in his press conference.
“It was a big day for the football club, one for the fans who turn up to see us in our last home game, and sending Andrew Gaff off and (celebrating) Crippa’s 250th.
“So there’s disappointment there from everyone. We’re not shying away from that, but it just shows that this game’s brutal.
“We’ve shown all year that our best is good enough.
“But when you’re off and you’re not committed to it, through choices that you make – whether through work rate, being clean around the contest – if you collectively don’t have the numbers to get it done, you get exposed.”
Schofield conceded there were players who were close to selection but missed out.
“We want to make sure that we keep giving these young blokes a look so they keep getting better,” he said.
Jakovich’s claim that Schofield needed to be challenged to be “ruthless” comes after he backed the interim coach to win the job on a full-time basis.
Speaking after the win over North Melbourne, the dual premiership player and four-time club champion had been impressed by “a pretty dramatic shift” among the players since 2018 premiership coach Adam Simpson left the club.
“They look like they’re lasting longer in the game,” he told The West Australian.
“They were gone for all money (against the Kangaroos) and to fight back, you’d never seen that under the previous coaching regime in the past three years.
“The way (Schofield has) obviously changed the optics, changed the mindset, freshened the place up — it was a circuit-breaker that was well overdue, and I reckon he’s in the prime position for it and I think the board have got to really look seriously at giving him the job.
“More importantly, you just don’t give Jarrad Schofield the job, you give him the job with the right resources and people in place behind him and around him.”
Jakovich’s former teammate Dean Cox was tipped to return to Perth and take over before he decided to stick with the Swans and stay in Sydney for family reasons.
Several highly rated assistants have since also pulled out of the running, including Fremantle’s Jaymie Graham.
