Sydney’s premiership hopes took a further dive on Sunday when they crashed to a 52-point loss to West Coast.

The Swans, without key forwards Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin due to injury, had no answer for the Eagles, who recorded a 15.13 (103) to 7.9 (51) victory.

And Sydney speedster Lewis Jetta angered a small section of the crowd when he performed a war dance in their direction after kicking a goal early in the final quarter.

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As part of the war cry, Jetta threw a make-believe spear in the direction of Eagles fans.

The move could have been in retaliation for the crowd’s relentless booing of Swans veteran Adam Goodes throughout the match.

Goodes courted controversy himself in May when he directed an indigenous war dance towards a section of Carlton supporters after kicking a goal.

Shuey was impressive again for the Eagles. Photo: Getty

Jetta, a good friend of Goodes, was one of Sydney’s best players on Sunday, but his team were little match for a white-hot Eagles outfit.

The heavy loss comes just a week after Sydney copped an 89-point hiding at the hands of Hawthorn. With three losses in their past five games, Sydney are on the slide.

In contrast, West Coast edged a step closer towards securing a top-two berth.

The Eagles’ midfield was once dubbed too slow and one-dimensional. Not anymore.

Brownlow medallist Matt Priddis put in another best-on-ground performance, while Andrew Gaff, Elliot Yeo, Chris Masten, Dom Sheed, and Luke Shuey were also influential.

Ruckman Nic Naitanui caused all sorts of havoc in the air and at ground level, while forwards Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy kicked three goals apiece.

West Coast kicked a wayward 11.21 in last week’s win over Collingwood. But they had no such troubles against the Swans early on, registering 6.0 before kicking their first behind.

In contrast, Sydney kicked 0.6 before Goodes finally broke their drought with a smart goal midway through the second term.

It would be Sydney’s only joy for the opening half, with their sloppy work and schoolboy errors costing them dearly.

Swingman Sam Reid best summed up their plight by hitting the left goal post and then the right within the space of a minute in the opening term.

West Coast’s lead ballooned to 64 points midway through the third quarter before the Swans finally added some scoreboard respectability.

But it meant little as the Eagles moved above Hawthorn and into second.

Riewoldt (L) flies for a mark. Photo: Getty

Also on Sunday, St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt and forward-line understudy Paddy McCartin impressed in miserable conditions at the MCG.

Riewoldt kicked three goals and took 13 marks, while McCartin had his best game so far for the Saints in the 12.11 (83) to 6.10 (46) win over Melbourne.

It was McCartin’s fourth senior match and last year’s No.1 draft pick took nine marks in the wet weather and kicked a goal.

The Saints recruited McCartin to eventually take over from Riewoldt as their main key forward.

St Kilda and Melbourne went into this match on five wins apiece and are at similar stages in their rebuilds.

But on Sunday’s evidence, the Saints are a big step ahead.

Three days ago, St Kilda announced a two-year contract extension for coach Alan Richardson.

And they marked the good news with a hard-fought and impressive victory.

Defenders Dylan Roberton and Sean Dempster had 23 disposals each for the Saints, while Melbourne’s Jack Viney won a game-high 31.

Melbourne had no multiple goalkickers, though, as they struggled in the forward half again.