Any team after a 15-player turnover from season to season is sure to have a few teething issues when starting a new year, but after their 12-point victory over Port Adelaide key West Coast leader Aisling McCarthy believes her team is in a good place.

Fighting back from 11 points down at the final change, the Eagles backed their fitness from a gruelling pre-season to overrun the Power and celebrated joyously as a group at the final siren.

“The players we’ve picked up have brought a lot of energy to the group, I think we’ve really bonded well over the pre-season and have put in a lot of hard yards,” McCarthy said.

“The win really solidified us as a group as well and I think we’ve taken a lot of belief from it.

“There has been a lot of turnover, but I think we’ve brought in some really good people into the club and we’ve really bonded well over the pre-season with all the hard work we’ve put in.”

West Coast saw eight new debutants run out on the field last Saturday all playing their part with McCarthy praising them for the commitment they have brought to the side.

The gun midfielder was not surprised the team is coming together so quickly.

“From the first day the debutants came in they really brought that energy with them into the group,” she said.

“We went away on a training camp and really gelled there and we’ve been doing a lot of match sim at training.

“Obviously players like Kate Bartlett and Ella Roberts have played WAFL together so you see that link play out as well.

“We’ve had enough experience now through the pre-season as well as two practice games, it was really nice to see it come together in round one.”

The Eagles will fly to the Gold Coast ahead of their round two match against the Suns on Sunday.

Players have been up and about at training with a clear goal in mind as they prepare to step up for the next challenge this week.

“It was important for us as a group to start the season off well and we had belief from all the work that was put in during the pre-season,” McCarthy said.

“We celebrated the win for 24 hours and now were focussed on Gold Coast, they beat us last year and we are under no illusion that they are going to bring the fight to us.

“Round two is going to bring different challenges travelling over east, it’s always tough to get a win on the road.”

McCarthy highlighted the professionalism shown by her side, in particular skipper Emma Swanson, as a key reason the players would not get ahead of themselves.

“Swanny has really brought the team back together and has got us focussed on that next task,” McCarthy said.

“We are a really process driven team, so we aren’t getting to far ahead of ourselves.

“It’s always nice to get to start the season off well but over the next coming weeks the challenges are just going to get tougher so sticking to our process is crucial.”