West Coast women's coach Michael Prior has backtracked on his criticism of the AFLW fixturing, saying his comments came out of frustration following his side's 70-point loss to Melbourne on Sunday.
With each team only playing 10 home-and-away matches in an 18-team competition, Prior blasted the decision to fixture strugglers West Coast up against last year's premiers Melbourne.
"How we play that team is beyond me. That (today's result) is what you get when you get fixturing like that," Prior said after Sunday's game.
West Coast released a statement from Prior on Monday afternoon to clarify his position.
"I would like to acknowledge my comments regarding the AFLW fixturing were unacceptable after our game against Narrm," Prior said.
"It was a disappointing performance and I was frustrated but that does not excuse my comments and they do not reflect the club’s position. I take full responsibility.
"Narrm are the benchmark in AFLW and credit to them for the way they played.
"As one of the youngest lists in the competition, taking on the reigning premier was a challenge our squad will learn from as we aspire to climb the AFLW ladder.
"Every opportunity to compete against the best teams is an opportunity to learn and get better and that is what we will be aiming to do in our final three matches this season.”
West Coast (1-6) sit second last on the ladder with a woeful percentage of 41.7 - the worst in the competition.
Only the winless Western Bulldogs (0-7) sit below them.
The Eagles will be back in action on Sunday when they travel to Melbourne to take on fifth-placed Essendon.
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