West Coast coach Adam Simpson was so confident that Josh Kennedy wouldn't play against Port Adelaide that he prematurely congratulated Tom Cole on being selected for his senior debut.

Kennedy left it until the last minute to decide whether to make himself available in order to be with his pregnant partner Lauren in case she gave birth to their first child. 

Full match coverage and stats

The Eagles spearhead did play and he was superb on Saturday, booting seven goals in the eight-point win after arriving in Adelaide a day later than his teammates.

Game breaker: JK puts his stamp on the Power

“It got down to the Friday lunchtime before he made the decision - I’m glad he did and Lauren, I’m glad you let him go,” Simpson said.

“To come over and switch on the way that he did, especially in the first half, I thought just shows what kind of leader he is.

“We had Tom Cole playing, planned for it, trained Jeremy McGovern forward - we had the whole thing ready to go. I might have actually congratulated (Cole) on getting his first game at one stage.”

Five talking points: Port Adelaide v West Coast

The Eagles entered Saturday’s contest against Port Adelaide having failed to win away from Domain Stadium since beating Collingwood at Etihad Stadium in round 16 last year.

Although challenged by the Power late, the Eagles hung on to win and snap the streak.

Simpson agreed that sides had to be able to win away from home if they were to finish in the top four, but he dismissed any notion that a monkey had been lifted from the club’s back.

Watch Adam Simpson's full post-match press conference

“The win’s important; we recognise we haven’t performed at our best away in recent times, but we didn’t do anything different with our preparation - oh we trained with t-shirts on,” Simpson said.

“It’s pretty obvious you need to win away to finish top four.

“It’s an important game for us at this time of year … but we’re not getting carried away.

“It’s been a while since we won interstate - that’s footy.

“We’re going to confront really hard teams away from home just as we are at home, so not a lot changed.”