IN WHAT was the shortest AFLW off-season to date, West Coast underwent significant player turnover in an effort to change its fortunes, and there are glimpses to suggest the effort was worth it. 

Across their first three seasons, the Eagles won just four of their 25 games and never managed more than two wins in a single campaign. In their first four games of season seven, however, they have already claimed two victories and have kept an opponent to a single digit score for the first time. 

Nearly half of the Eagles' list left the club in the months preceding this season and in replacing them the very face of the side has changed. 

The Eagles also added highly talented ruck Lauren Wakfer at the draft, but she is listed as inactive this season due to a knee injury. New recruits have contributed 40.5 per cent of games for West Coast so far this season. Of those 14 active additions to the side, 10 have made their debut in the first four rounds, seven of whom have played all possible games to date.  

Kate Bartlett and Mikayla Western have made an impact up forward, combining for four goals, 21 score involvements and five tackles inside 50. Higher up the field Emma Humphries has been gaining ground with her disposal, registering 645m gained and Sasha Goranova has been applying the pressure with 16 tackles and 12 intercepts. Meanwhile Western Australia's first draft pick, Ella Roberts, has warmed into the season and has racked up 48 disposals, 16 tackles and 752m gained to date. 

What has also been important is the improvement of existing trio Sarah Lakay, Sophie McDonald, and Charlie Thomas.  

Lakay, who sits fifth in the competition for hitouts this season, has added a big-bodied presence around the ground that was lost with Parris Laurie's retirement. Thomas seems to have found a home in the back half, collecting 17 intercepts, and using her 44 disposals at 75 per cent efficiency. And key defender McDonald has proven her competitiveness and ability to blanket dangerous forwards. 

All this change is worth nothing if they cannot work together to limit their opposition, but the Eagles have started to execute specific game plans to take away their opponents' strengths.  

Their pressure around the ball has increased, averaging a club-high 66.8 tackles per game which is forcing poorer disposal from their opposition. This defence higher up the ground is providing great support for their backline, conceding fewer inside 50s on average than the side has ever before, with just 26.8. 

While they have fallen away for periods of time – consistency comes with time and experience – they have been able to both work at their opposition's strengths and also move into attack themselves. They are winning less ball this season, averaging just 175.3 disposals per game, but controlling it better when they do have it.  

This, alongside the improved pressure higher up the ground, has seen them control territory better and generate more attacking opportunities than ever before, as evidenced in their possession heat maps from this season as compared to the previous two. 

This has never been more evident than when taking on GWS last weekend. Two small, but pointed, strategies allowed the Eagles to claim their first victory over the Giants.  

West Coast's aforementioned pressure forced poor ball use from GWS, keeping it to its lowest disposals efficiency of the season to date, 59.5 per cent. That pressure also led to a dismal 7.7 per cent goal efficiency despite the Giants taking a shot from 65 per cent of their 20 forward 50 entries. 

The other key to the victory was Sophie McDonald's role on GWS spearhead Cora Staunton. Identifying that Staunton is vital to the Giants' ability to win, McDonald played a self-sacrificing role on the veteran. It wasn't simply the six tackles that McDonald laid that limited Staunton's output, it was the lack of space she was provided. McDonald remained within a tight metre or two of Staunton for the duration of the game to restrict the clearing step the forward often finds to break away toward goal. Without that, Staunton was kept goalless, and the Giants' forward line was left largely impotent. 

While West Coast is still finding its feet, and it may not be able to find strong performances as consistently from week to week, or even quarter to quarter, there are clear signs that the Eagles' rebuilt playing list can not only play its own game but take away their opponents' strengths. With more time together, and the confidence the small wins can offer this season, West Coast has great potential to take a big step forward next year.