WEST Coast's top-four destiny is in its own hands but the Eagles must keep doing the basics well to avoid any slip-ups, according to skipper Shannon Hurn.
The Eagles produced a stunning first half of the season, winning nine of their 12 games to sit second on the ladder behind cross-town rival Fremantle.
Their position in the top four was consolidated further following Richmond's defeat of the Sydney Swans last Friday night and Fremantle's win over Collingwood on Thursday night.
The Eagles have not played finals since 2012 and Hurn said they have a golden chance with six of their last 10 games at their Domain Stadium home ground.
"It is a great opportunity," Hurn said.
"The thing that you want to get out of football is you want to be able to dictate what you want to be able to do and what you want to achieve.
"I think we've been able to do that in the first half.
"Certainly the ball is in our court. We're really positive and confident with what we can do but we just have to keep doing the basics and play that team football."
The Eagles enjoyed a week off after beating Richmond at the MCG off consecutive six-day breaks. The Tigers were sluggish that night following their bye and Hurn said the Eagles have to be sharp when they face Melbourne in Darwin on Saturday night.
"We have spoken about that a little bit," Hurn said.
"You want to have that first week off for a bit of a mental rest.
"But it's still important that you get a bit of physicality in during the week. I think sometimes sides get in the trap of trying to freshen up. But I think you need that body contact to remind you that footy is a contact game. So we're really confident with what we have put in place in the past few days."
The Eagles had some sore players prior to the break with Jeremy McGovern, Will Schofield and Jamie Cripps all copping heavy knocks during the win over the Tigers. But Hurn said the bye had given them the time required to get over their issues.
"They've been fine," Hurn said.
"They've pulled up well. They'll be able to train and we'll just treat this week as a normal week now."
