“(Sunday’s performance) gives everyone confidence in the pre-season.
“We’ve had a really good pre-season, we’ve had most of the guys out on the track, but there’s a number of clubs that will be saying the same thing.”
West Coast, who were already without injured senior players Liam Duggan, Jack Graham, Tim Kelly, Brandon Starcevich and Reuben Ginbey, lost key defender Harry Edwards to concussion after a first-half knock.
Jacob Newton (two goals) finished the game early with precautionary ice on his left ankle and Harley Reid (22 disposals) appeared briefly troubled by a leg issue.
The Eagles turned to their youngsters for inspiration, with Josh Lindsay (22 disposals, one goal), Willem Duursma (16 touches) and Cooper Duff-Tytler (one goal) among those who showed glimpses.
No.1 draft pick Duursma was busy but made some bad errors by foot, spraying a set shot out of bounds and giving up a goal with a turnover deep in defence.
The 18-year-old remains a likely inclusion for the Eagles’ round-one clash with Gold Coast on March 15.
Former Brisbane player Deven Robertson (28 disposals) and ex-Magpie Finlay Macrae also did well in their first official outings for West Coast, while Jake Waterman and Matt Owies kicked two goals each.
Importantly, injury-prone star Elliot Yeo (nine disposals) got through another pre-season hit-out unscathed.
Eagles coach Andrew McQualter was disappointed with the result, and conceded his players’ skill level and ability to handle pressure weren’t at the required standards, but also saw some positives.
“All our young players showed some moments … there’s some excitement there for sure,” McQualter said.
