IT WASN'T always pretty, but West Coast skipper Shannon Hurn believes knocking over Sydney with grit instead of firepower was ideal preparation for the Eagles' next challenge – overcoming Hawthorn at the MCG.

The Eagles steeled themselves for a slugfest and matched Sydney's intensity at Domain Stadium on Thursday night.

West Coast's 26-point victory improved the club's record to 3-1, and the Eagles now have 10 days to recover and plot how to defeat Alastair Clarkson's Hawks in Melbourne.

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Hawthorn thrashed West Coast by 46 points in the 2015 Grand Final and by the same margin in last season's round two rematch at the venue – and the Eagles don't need to be reminded about their MCG record. 

Adam Simpson's side has lost four of the last five at the home of football, including an 11-point defeat under stormy skies against Richmond in round three. 

"That's another challenge for us (against Hawthorn). I think we've got the right combination of how we defend and how we use the ball, and can play a couple of different ways – and that's what you need to be able to do," Hurn told AFL.com.au.

"But certainly if you do the basics well, like we did (against Sydney), that goes a long way.

"It doesn't matter where you play." 

The Eagles physicality went up a notch against Sydney – with Hurn setting the tone with a bonecrunching hip-and-shoulder on Lance Franklin in the opening minutes. 

Hurn's textbook bump hobbled the Swans superstar for the remainder of the contest and limited his influence, despite Buddy finishing with two goals and 15 touches. 

"We knew that was what it was going to be – a contested game – and you aim to go and get the ball and, if you can't, put on a bump or something," Hurn said. 

"I thought a lot of blokes had a lot of good efforts tonight, especially early on.

"It just shows a reasonable intent from everyone who did that. 

"Sometimes you can (give) an old-fashioned hip-and-shoulder and sometimes you can't – it's just making sure you're switched on and trying to impact the contest when you can." 

Although West Coast narrowly lost the contested ball count to Sydney (-4), it was a marked improvement from the Tigers clash (-25) and Hurn called on his teammates to deliver that type of performance consistently.

"That's what we need to be able to do throughout the year and the whole game," he said. 

"You don't want to have too much up-and-down with that consistency in contested ball.

"Blokes just did their bit (against Sydney) and I thought we tackled really well.

"It was just a hard game, an old-fashioned game – almost like a country slog."