It’s tough winning a gig in the defensive half for the West Coast Eagles and it’s not about to get any easier.

With Will Schofield and Adam Selwood likely to be available for Saturday’s clash with North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena in Hobart, the match committee will have an interesting discussion around the table over the next few days.

After a 126-point win it’s difficult to make changes, but both Schofield and Selwood have been integral members of the back half, so influential in a 10-3 start to the season that has enabled West Coast to occupy a spot in the top four from the start of the season.

If that wasn’t enough for the selectors to mull over, there is also the form of Lewis Stevenson, Sam Butler, Ashley Smith and Gerrick Weedon to consider.

Butler, who travelled as an emergency against Collingwood a fortnight ago, was exceptional for Perth on Sunday, picking up 32 possessions and 11 marks in a classy performance, while Stevenson has enjoyed a stellar season for Claremont.

Again, he had 18 possessions, used the ball precisely and was terrific defensively as evidenced by six tackles. Weedon has settled into defence as well for the Tigers in recent weeks and his confidence has grown from week to week.

He had 13 possessions, spending a lot of time in the last line of defence, but also clamped on four tackles and reduced the impact of his opponents who had a total of  three touches.

Smith played the first five games in the seniors, suffered an ankle injury and has been frustrated by soft tissue problems, but had 21 possessions for Perth in a return from a hamstring strain and looked in good fettle.

The problem for the players in the defensive queue is that those in the team already have done little wrong, so winning a place back in the elite level is difficult.

Mind you, it’s not much different anywhere within the team at the moment. Midfielders Koby Stevens and Tom Swift could attest to that fact as their form in the WAFL has been impeccable but opportunities scarce. All they can do is play at their optimum in the second tier and be ready to roll if and when a chance comes.

Both were again terrific on the weekend. Stevens racked up 28 possessions for East Fremantle against Perth, while Swift had 25 touches against South Fremantle, both men winning plenty of inside footy.

The same situation exists in the forward half, with Andrew Strijk starting to find consistent touch for West Perth, while emerging players Fraser McInnes and Ryan Neates have done little wrong. Strijk kicked three goals from his 20 touches and eight marks when West Perth upset Swan Districts.

Neates had 21 disposals and five tackles, while McInnes again displayed a strong work rate with 19 touches and five tackles as a key forward and pinch hitting ruckman.

Former Collingwood forward Brad Dick made his senior debut for East Fremantle and gave another encouraging display. Coming of a knee reconstruction, he had played three confidence-boosting games in the reserves before 15 possessions and 2.3 on the weekend.

In addition, there were five West Coast players engaged in the reserves competition, with Bradd Dalziell resuming after a knee injury suffered against GWS in round three. He had 17 touches, five marks and four tackles in an encouraging display.

Tall forward Anton Hamp kicked three goals for Claremont, Simon Tunbridge worked hard as a forward for Perth, Michael Mascoulis had 19 disposals for West Perth and Callum Papertalk, playing in defence for East Fremantle had 10 touches.