Andrew Gaff says the spirit and energy amongst West Coast’s playing group is as good as he has seen and the experienced Eagle is optimistic improved performances aren’t far away.

Lack of continuity has been a huge issue for Adam Simpson’s team in the opening three rounds, with just six players featuring in every game and 38 pulling on the blue and gold guernsey so far.

They are numbers never before seen so early in the season but with a host of players exiting AFL Health and Safety Protocols and returning from injuries soon there appears to be blue sky on the horizon.

“The spirit and energy within our group at the moment is as good as I’ve seen,” Gaff said.

“It’s not coming on the wins tally at the moment but I feel the energy is high within the group, everyone gets on well with each other and just with a little bit more continuity, more guys on the track and just a little bit more confidence I think some good performances are pretty close.”

One of the positives from a turbulent start to the campaign has been the exposure for emerging players, including Luke Foley, Luke Edwards, Connor West, Xavier O’Neill, Hugh Dixon and Brady Hough.

“Those guys are going to be so much better down the track for the experiences and the lessons they’re learning at the moment,” Gaff said.

“As a senior guy it’s really nice to play, and it’s refreshing to play, with those guys.

“No doubt they’re going to be better and we’re going to be better for those guys having more responsibility at this early part of the year.”

With the likes of Luke Shuey, Liam Duggan, Willie Rioli, Tom Barrass and Bailey Williams set to put their hands up after isolation, plus some quality returning in coming weeks from injuries, West Coast should soon resemble close to its best available team soon.

But first the Eagles have to focus on a red-hot Collingwood side at Marvel Stadium, with the Pies starting the season in impressive form with two early wins under new coach Craig McRae and a narrow loss to Geelong last round.

“I think they’re pretty attacking from what I’ve seen. They take you on, they love going forward and handballing forward,” Gaff said of the Magpies.

“It’s going to be a challenge for us. We’ve got to be brave. Got to be on the front foot, because otherwise they can make you look pretty silly.

“For three quarters against Geelong they were clearly the better team.

“They’ve come a long way I think from this time last year with a new coach and their best players are playing really well at the moment.

“We need to improve on a few areas we’ve struggled with the last few weeks, but we feel like we’re building slowly, hopefully get a few guys back this week and hopefully building towards a four-quarter, consistent performance.”