The 2024 season is just getting started, and while round one was not the result the team would have liked, young midfielder Reuben Ginbey said the group is excited for what’s to come.

“The best thing about round one is there’s so much more of the season to come,” Ginbey said.

“Looking to round one, we were so excited after training super hard for the last three to four months.

“There was a lot of positives we took out of this game, I think our stoppage work and pressure around the ball, which we’ve really been trying to build on, was awesome.

“There are a few things that we need to work on, with our team D (defence) and that kind of thing, but that connection piece takes a while to build, we’re definitely working towards an identity that we’re striving hard to build.

“We’ve got many weeks ahead and I’m super stoked and excited for the weeks to come.”

The big-bodied youngster said he’s adjusting to the changes to his role and hopes to have more of an impact around the ground going forward.

“Last year I was probably in the trenches a little bit just trying to dig the ball out,” Ginbey said.

“This year I’m trying to do a bit of a split between mid and inside, just to bring my outside game into it.

“I didn’t find the footy as much as I would have liked last week but still adjusting to the role so hopefully I can impact inside and also outside a bit more with a bit of run and carry.”

West Coast will battle the Giants, who currently sit top of the ladder, on Sunday at Optus Stadium.

These two teams met in the exact same scenario last season, with the Eagles getting the job done in front of their home fans.

“I’ve watched a bit of their game, and they are playing some super exciting footy,” Ginbey said.

“I think their brand of footy they play is really quick, handball receives through the corridor, kind of suits the kind of footy we try to play as well, which is high pressure, strong in the contest.

“I think it will be a really great match up so I can’t wait to play round two against these guys, and our first win was against these guys last year in round two as well so it will be exciting to have them back on our home deck.”

Ginbey is anticipating a challenging but entertaining matchup between the two midfield groups this weekend.

“I think their threat is definitely their strength inside, with boys like Tom Green and (Stephen) Coniglio and those guys, really hard to tackle and obviously pretty big bodies,” Ginbey said.

“And then the outside run with guys like (Lachie) Whitfield off half-back and (Josh) Kelly, they have a good mix of inside and outside midfielders but so do we.

“I think our midfield is pretty fit at the moment and I think we definitely can match it with them with our mix of strength and size with ‘Yeoy’ (Elliot Yeo) and hopefully me, and Tim Kelly at his best is a pretty unstoppable player so I think it will be a really good match up inside.”

For the first time this season, West Coast will run out on their home turf, in front of the Eagles faithful, and Ginbey encourages everyone to come down and get amongst the action.

“We haven’t played a home game for a while and it’s the first one of the year so I’m really stoked to be playing in front of members and fans again,” Ginbey said.

“The aim this year is to really try and make Optus that fortress that it once was, and playing in WA, teams fearing to come to WA and playing us.

“We have some of the old boys coming back, ‘Bunga’ (Shannon Hurn), ‘Boots’ (Luke Shuey) and ‘Nic Nat’ (Nic Naitanui) to do a lap of honour.

“So, it would be awesome to have as many fans and members down as possible to support those boys and support us.”