Adam Simpson declares Oscar Allen’s ruck days all but over after stunning five-goal haul for West Coast Eagles

West Coast coach Adam Simpson has declared Oscar Allen’s days in the ruck all but over after a near career-best display against Collingwood.

The 22-year-old finished with a career-high five goals against the Pies, proving himself too valuable in the forward line to play second fiddle to Nic Naitanui in the middle.

Allen and West Coast’s talls exploited Collingwood’s undermanned backline and by the time Dom Sheed kicked the first of his three goals in the third quarter, Allen, Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling had combined for eight straight goals.

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With Kennedy approaching the twilight of his career and Allen nearing his prime, Simpson said the eventual heir to the 33-year-olds glittering throne would only grow under the mentorship of his predecessor.

“We can’t keep rucking Ozzie when he can kick five for us in the front half,” Simpson said.

“I think what’s happened is Kennedy and Darling have really complimented the development of Oscar Allen.

“It’s been three or four years now and he’s a mature player. He loves putting the pressure on. He loves doing the little things and he’s a leader in his own right.

“We need to keep a bit of a lid on it.

“He’s going to have ups and downs. He’s still pretty young but while he has some experience around, it’s a good apprenticeship.”

Camera Icon Oscar Allen booted five. Credit: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos

Simpson added West Coast were still exploring their most potent line-up with smalls Jack Petruccelle and Liam Ryan likely to be unavailable for several games.

“We took a risk but we’re a pretty tall side tonight,” he said.

“We’ve lost a few soldiers in Petruccelle and Liam Ryan being out for a while. Brander is a tall.

“We’re trying to explore our best match up and our best personnel.”

Video Oscar Allen has taken a screamer at Optus Stadium, but Collingwood’s Jeremy Howe paid the price.

Despite running out 16.7 (103) to 11.10 (76) winners, Simpson also declared West Coast’s inability to close out games an ongoing issue.

Late in the third quarter, the Eagles held a game-high lead of 41 points thanks to three straight goals from Sheed, and threatened to inflict even more damage.

But three unanswered goals early in the fourth quarter to Darcy Moore, Beau McCreery and Darcy Cameron saw the margin trimmed to 22 points.

Jack Darling steadied the ship shortly with the Eagles running out eventual 27 point winners.

But after missing out on the top four the past two seasons due to inferior percentage, Simpson

“We’ve had positions of dominance this year every game,” Simpson said.

“Every game we’ve been in front heading into the last quarter almost so we’ve got to find a way to lock that down.

“A lot of times it is contest driven but we’ve got to explore other ways as well.

“It’s disappointing how we finished the game off but a lot of credit has to go to Collingwood, they just did not give up.

“It’s not like we took the foot off the pedal, I thought they elevated and to their credit, they only had one fit man on the bench in the end.”

Simpson also believed defensive pair Tom Cole and Josh Rotham had escaped a sickening headclash unscathed after spotting them “giggling” in the change rooms.