West Coast coach Adam Simpson has apologised to Andrew Brayshaw and Fremantle on behalf of the Eagles, saying the training shout-out of the young Docker’s name was “inappropriate”.

Footage released by the Eagles on Instagram this week appeared to show Nathan Vardy calling out Brayshaw’s name twice as Gaff was taking a shot at goal.

Gaff last year copped an eight-match suspension for striking Brayshaw in the face in an incident that broke the Docker’s jaw.

After Gaff this morning described the training event as “in poor taste” and “disrespectful”, Simpson echoed the sentiment as he apologised to Fremantle.

“(It’s) really disappointing for us, from a club point of view,” Simpson said.

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“We’ve got to be pretty honest with that. That was a mistake.

“We apologise to Andrew and his family, the Brayshaws, and to Fremantle as well.

“It was inappropriate. We shouldn’t have done it.”

Play Video Dockers coach Ross Lyon said it was "really disappointing" to hear Andrew Brayshaw's name called out as Eagles players tried to put Andrew Gaff off a kick at training. The West Australian Video Dockers coach Ross Lyon said it was "really disappointing" to hear Andrew Brayshaw's name called out as Eagles players tried to put Andrew Gaff off a kick at training.

When asked if Vardy would face a reprimand for the jibe, Simpson said the club was yet to decide.

“We need to look at that,” he said.

“It’s not ideal. It’s not something that we condone.

“We’ll work through that with our leaders. That’s pretty fresh - we only found out about that yesterday afternoon.

“We’re really disappointed in how it transpired. We need to educate him.”

It comes as Simpson confirmed he was likely to make six changes for tomorrow night’s clash with Essendon at Optus Stadium.

Willie Rioli and Nathan Vardy go out through suspension, but the other four changes would be unforced - with the likes of Josh Smith, Josh Rotham, and Jake Waterman in danger of the axe in the wake of the 45-point loss to Sydney.

Skipper Shannon Hurn (hamstring), Oscar Allen (Achilles) and Elliot Yeo (calf) all return from injury, while Jarrod Cameron will make his AFL debut.