Coming away from a nine-point loss to Geelong, West Coast senior coach Michael Prior remains confident the Eagles are on the right path, taking away contributions from his young players as a key positive for his team.
In their last four games the Eagles haven't lost by under ten points with each match coming down to key moments.
“We feel we are on the right path and it’ll turn for us but there is still some hard work to go,” Prior said.
“There are patches in games where we think if we get it right for four quarters we’ll be okay.
“That’s just the evolution and growth in our group and it’ll take a bit of time.”
In what seems to be a running theme for the Eagles, key rookies again stood out for the side including their three Rising Star nominees.
While the two remaining games left in the season remains a priority, Prior is excited to see what the future holds for his young side as they continue to improve every week.
“We’ve got some good young players coming through, Sarah Lakay in the ruck and Ella Roberts up forward, she kicked the first goal of the game,” Prior said.
“Jaide Britton played well out on the wing as well and Charlie Thomas just keeps developing every single game.
“I thought they all performed admirably tonight.”
Sophie McDonald again showed she is one of the most underrated backs in the competition, putting on a shutdown performance against Cat’s key forward Chloe Sheer.
The defender remains one of the Eagles’ key assets with her relentless and competitive style of play keeping the Eagles in the hunt during every game they’ve played this season.
“She’s been fantastic for us, she should be spoken about in All-Australian contention as a key back,” Prior said.
“Out of the eight games we’ve played I think she’s only been beaten once.
“We continue to throw tough jobs at Soph and she does her homework and she studies her opposition and that’s clearly why she’s getting the job done during the weekends.”
West Coast have quickly shifted their focused to the Bulldogs next week at Mineral Resources Park and are excited to return home and take on their next challenge in front of a home crowd.
