West Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui has been shocked by the level of criticism the club has copped this season, and he's confident the team will prove the doubters wrong.
The Eagles were in the AFL spotlight last week for all the wrong reasons following their shock loss to Collingwood.
The futures of players such as Matt Priddis and Mark LeCras were heavily debated in the media, with the pressure eventually taking its toll.
Priddis announced his retirement last Friday, despite having a year to run on his contract.
Rumours have surfaced that Priddis was angry he wasn't selected for last week's win over Brisbane. West Coast claim he was overlooked because of a calf injury.
The futures of LeCras, Eric Mackenzie, Josh Hill, Sam Butler, Drew Petrie, and Sam Mitchell are still being hotly debated.
Petrie and Mitchell are expected to retire, but the others may get pushed.
Naitanui only recently returned from a training program in the US, and he was shocked to hear the intense criticism levelled at the Eagles.
"To come back and hear some of the stuff going on - people asking for players' heads, and the coach's head ... it was disappointing to see," Naitanui said.
"I hate people having pot shots at my teammates, because they are my brothers.
"I think people have a better understanding of footballers and what we go out there to do.
"But at times you can get carried away with asking for people to be sacked. Hopefully that changes around."
West Coast moved into eighth spot following their 68-point win over Brisbane.
But their finals hopes will be put to the test against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Naitanui, who remains hopeful of returning from a knee injury later this year if the Eagles can go deep into the finals, said the criticism had a plus side.
"Even since the 2015 grand final, we've had a lot of doubters, and we will continue to until we start winning games more regularly," Naitanui said.
"I guess all that stuff on the outside is tough to hear when they start bagging some of your teammates.
"But it probably brings us closer together as well and makes us want to prove a lot of people wrong.
"As much as we hate it, we're probably thankful for it as well because it probably acts as a driving force. Hopefully that propels us into playing finals this year."
Priddis is a strong chance to return against the Saints, but Scott Lycett's season might be over because of an ongoing shoulder issue.
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