WEST Coast coach Adam Simpson says it's impossible to know yet where the Eagles rank in the pecking order, despite his club sitting second on the ladder with six wins after eight rounds.
After resisting a challenge from the spirited Saints in the second quarter to run out 53-point winners at Etihad Stadium, Simpson refused to add to the growing sense that the Eagles are serious contenders in 2015.
"I still think the season is yet to settle," the coach said on Saturday after the game.
"It's taking a few more weeks than perhaps last year or previous years."
The Eagles have now won five consecutive games with good wins against Greater Western Sydney and Port Adelaide.
They have also won three games outside of Western Australia, defeating the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba, Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval and the Saints at Etihad Stadium.
They face Geelong at Domain Stadium next Sunday.
"Every week is presenting with a massive challenge and you only have to see what happened in that second quarter for us what happens when we drop off," Simpson said.
"When we drop off with some basics, we're vulnerable."
The Eagles dominated the centre clearances and appear to have a deeper midfield this season than they have in previous years.
Simpson said the inclusion of Elliot Yeo was giving the midfield group a different look. Sharrod Wellingham and Mark Le Cras are also constants this season and Liam Duggan has made a sensational start to his career.
Simpson said the club identified the need for flexibility in that part of the ground to provide support for Brownlow medallist Matt Priddis.
"We want to develop flexibility in our midfield and to rely on Priddis the whole time can be a bit of an Achilles heel for us, so we need to develop players in and around him to be able to match it for four quarters," Simpson said.
"If we rely on him the whole time we'll drop off."
Simpson said he had not seen the incident involving Yeo that saw the Saint Jimmy Webster concussed after Yeo collected him while spoiling.
He was also heartened by the return of Scott Selwood from injury.
Selwood started as a substitute before coming on during the third quarter in his first game since round one. Simpson said that ideally Selwood would have played for East Perth in the WAFL but that team had a bye.
"We didn't put any pressure on [Selwood] for performance … He was right for around 80 minutes of footy and we took a calculated risk that as a sub he could handle that," Simpson said.
What the Eagles as a team can handle now becomes the question.
A better picture of where they sit will emerge in the next month when they play the Cats, North Melbourne, Essendon and Richmond ahead of their bye.
“We don't know where we really sit," Simpson said.
"All we can do is perform and play a brand that we think can stand up in big games."
