In what Simpson described as a "dirty game," the Eagles fought back from a sloppy start to register their sixth victory for the season, which keeps them within two wins of the top eight. 

He said the Eagles could be in the mix for September if they developed some consistency. 

"It wasn't high skills, we thought they really turned up to play and we were a bit off at the start," the first-year coach said after the win.

 

"But we did find a way and we did grind it out. In the last quarter they threw everything at us but we held up well enough.

 

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're here with a win. We're a young team, we're a young squad … we’re still alive so there are a lot of positives.

 

"We're two games out of the eight. We're competitive with teams around us … I think we're capable - it's just consistency we're looking for."

 

After a string of losses to top-eight sides, the Eagles finally broke through last week to claim their first scalp of the season against a likely finalist, beating Gold Coast.  

 

West Coast has now won two games in a row, something it hasn’t been able to achieve since its 3-0 start to the season. It will need to take that momentum into next Saturday's derby against Fremantle.

 

"It's a big game for the state and we've got to play better than we did tonight," Simpson said.

 

"They're in better form than they were last time we played them. We've played four or five games since then, it hasn't been too long since we played them but we're better for the experience.

 

"I'm better for the experience but I don't think that makes it any easier."

 

A potential trump card for West Coast against Freo is its in-form attack, which monstered the St Kilda defence on Sunday.

 

Jack Darling, ruckman Scott Lycett, Josh Kennedy and Jeremy McGovern combined to kick nine of the Eagles' 15 goals.

McGovern, 22, was impressive once again with three goals and four marks and he looked lively every time the ball went inside the Eagles' attacking 50.

 

"'Gov’ is a natural footballer," Simpson said.

 

"He's still got a lot of work to do to get his game more rounded but he's only played four games. He kicked another three [goals] today and we felt he was looking really dangerous there.

 

"If [Kennedy] is having an off night we can kick the ball to him. We're confident he can win his one-on-ones and he's playing a good role for the team but we can't rely on a four-game player."