West Coast coach Adam Simpson praised his experienced players for lifting late in a game that felt "a little bit different to normal" against Gold Coast, with the tackle count a lowly 39-33 as both teams tried to control possession.
Dom Sheed (34 possessions and nine clearances) was a standout in the midfield, while young forward Oscar Allen booted a career-high four goals.
"I think the players just went to another level, our guys," Simpson said.
"They've probably been around a bit longer than some of the Gold Coast boys and they elevated in the contest and got some good field position … we won the important contests."
Simpson was happy with his midfield's ability to hold their own without star pair Luke Shuey and Elliot Yeo and said the two-pronged ruck structure would likely stay in place.
"It’s really difficult to not do that for us," the coach said after Gold Coast won the hit-outs 31-23 and squared clearances 30-30.
"The lower the rotations and the longer the game time, power athletes are going to get exposed.
"Resting forward doesn’t work for everyone, so we need to find a way to get Nic (Naitanui) involved in the game, and at the moment it means an extra ruck."
