WEST Coast will hope to take senior reinforcements into Saturday's Western Derby 59 as the team targets consistency in its final five weeks and tries to build a hungry young group for its next coach to inherit. 

The Eagles could add up to three senior players for Saturday's clash, with Jeremy McGovern (ribs/lung), Jake Waterman (knee) and Elliot Yeo (soreness) all pushing to play, and ruckman Matt Flynn (ankle) also in the mix. Co-captain Liam Duggan, however, will miss another match with concussion.

Defender Jayden Hunt said the Derby would be a chance for the Eagles to get back to the football they were playing earlier in the season when they beat Fremantle by 37 points and bounce back from a disappointing performance against St Kilda.

"It's always going to be a bit of a bigger atmosphere, but I think any game for the rest of the year, we really want to get back to just playing that sort of ruthless football and make it really hard for the opposition to play against us," Hunt said on Tuesday. 

"The 23 guys that played on the weekend, we said this is an opportunity to bounce back after a really disappointing showing. 

"We were soundly beaten in the contest and our pressure as the game went on went lower and lower, so we really want to get back to that."

The Eagles' win in Derby 58 in front of a home crowd was arguably their best performance of the year as Harley Reid (three goals and seven clearances) and Glendinning-Allan medallist Yeo (26 disposals and six clearances) propelled the team to a thrilling upset. 

Hunt said the match had proved what the Eagles – and young star Reid – were capable of and the team should take confidence from that performance this week, despite the 1-11 run that has followed.

"I think some of our earlier performance, including the first Derby, show that we can do it at our best, but obviously the last few weeks it's just been really inconsistent," he said.

"They're a really in-form team and they're going to bring it, we know that, so it's a great opportunity to match that and then hopefully build momentum as the game goes on.

"He (Reid) normally rises to the occasion and I think he loves the atmosphere and the home games and a bit of turbulence out there on the field, so I'm hoping he can put in a big one."

While the next five weeks will give the Eagles a chance to target consistency with their performances and game style, it could also open opportunities for young players to be exposed at AFL level before another off-season. 

Midfielder Clay Hall and young key forward Archer Reid were two draftees that Hunt said had been exciting at the lower level, while onballer Zane Trew had impressed in the past fortnight after earning an opportunity under caretaker coach Jarrad Schofield. 

"It's so good to have these young guys pushing through and I reckon successful footy clubs come from the twos and the younger blokes really pushing the older blokes so that no one really feels safe in their position," Hunt said. 

"I reckon that's what we need and it's starting to show a little bit. So I'm really looking forward to these guys building for the rest of the year.

"Archer Reid's had a good few weeks and he's pushing really hard, Clay Hall's gone really well, and then we saw Zane Trew get a few games and do some good things, so I think there's a real broad mix, which is really exciting."

Hunt said the mix of experience and youth on the Eagles' list meant the club's next coach would need to be someone who could work well with both, but he was confident the club would choose well. 

He said the players did not take it personally when potential candidates, including Sydney assistant Dean Cox and Port Adelaide's Josh Carr, ruled out applying for the role. 

"I think there's a lot of reasons why coaches can't just take any gig that comes. I know there's families and stuff like that, they're all settled, so we don't focus and worry about that," he said.