WEST Coast coach John Worsfold has praised the toughness of Mark LeCras, after the forward booted five second-half goals with badly bruised ribs during his team's 53-point thrashing of Essendon on Sunday.

LeCras crashed into the Etihad Stadium turf during the second quarter after contesting a mark with Bombers defender Mark Baguley.

He left the field clutching his left ribs and apparently in severe pain, and did not re-emerge until after half-time.

But the 26-year-old starred from then on, booting two quick goals as the Eagles built a handy buffer during the third term, and then adding a further three as the margin blew out in the last.

Already playing with a guard on his right arm to protect the fracture he suffered in round one, and having just returned from two matches out with a foot problem, Worsfold said the the initial diagnosis was bruised cartilage. 

"He was pretty sore," the premiership coach said.

"He's a talented player, but he's also a tough kid.

"He had to tell us if he thought he could still contribute at the required level at half-time, and he wanted to give it a go.

"It was a matter of giving him six or seven minutes, get him in some contests and see how he goes.

"He's been threatening, and he's played some good games for us this year, but he hasn't had the continuity to get through after breaking his arm."

Worsfold said he had been pleased with the effort and intensity shown by his players throughout the win, which was the Eagles' first against a top-eight team this season and moved them level on points with ninth-placed Carlton, but still narrowly behind on percentage.

Given speculation around whether Essendon could be stripped of premiership points and lose its place in the finals over the supplements saga, West Coast is suddenly back in the September frame.

But Worsfold declined to talk up a possible finals charge.

"We talked about playing the season out really strongly and that's our aim," he said.

"But what that means ... I don't know what number win that was for us this year.

"I don't where it puts us and I don't who [is] around us and how many wins they have.

"I really don't look at the ladder – you can make all those calculations. 

"We're just looking forward to playing with intensity next week."

Worsfold said the Eagles were a chance to regain Luke Shuey from a hamstring injury for next week's home clash with Geelong, while Matt Rosa, Andrew Embley and Adam Selwood had all performed strongly in the WAFL.

He said high-leaping ruckman Nic Naitanui would not be available for selection as he continues to battle groin soreness.