AS EXCITING as the moment was, the importance of Nic Naitanui's goal after the siren against North Melbourne was not lost on the Eagles players in the context of their season.
The Eagles have been the masters of their own demise in two of their four losses this season.
Had Naitanui missed the last kick on Friday night, the Eagles would have lost a third game this season when outscoring their opponents, following losses to Carlton and Port Adelaide on the back of poor kicking.
West Coast midfielder Andrew Gaff said it was a huge relief to scrape past the Kangaroos.
"There's a massive difference between us being 3-5 if Nic had missed that goal, and 4-4 like we are now," he said.
"It (poor kicking for goal) is obviously a bit of a concern. I guess it's one of those things that just happens.
"Some weeks you kick well, some weeks you kick terribly. But we missed quite a few gettable shots that could've, probably should've, hurt us in the end.
"If we kicked well against Port Adelaide, maybe Carlton the week before that, we could be a bit higher up on the ladder.
"But these things happen in a season. Hopefully we've seen the end of it."
The Eagles thought they had seen the end of it last week. After kicking a combined 17.42 against the Blues and Port Adelaide, they kicked beautifully against the Bulldogs and Lions, managing 38 majors from 55 scores.
But the yips reappeared against North Melbourne, West Coast kicking 12.18 to North's 13.10.
Thank goodness for Naitanui.
"I think he's one of our most valuable players, whether it's in the ruck or up forward," Gaff said.
"Just the things he can do. Take those marks. He's also so good on the ground and so quick.
"He's definitely, if not our most valuable player, one of the top few."
West Coast has won three straight since Naitanui returned from a groin injury and Gaff said the club's ruck combination was a huge strength.
"With him and Coxy (Dean Cox), we feel we've got the two best ruckmen in the competition," Gaff said.
"I'm sure every club would like to have two ruckmen of that standard in their team, so it definitely does give us a confidence boost."
But Gaff feels his side is still nowhere near its best.
"I think we've definitely got a long way to go. I think this year at Subiaco we haven't been the team we have in previous years," he said.
"But … we've got to get better on the road.
"We're striving, and pride ourselves on playing well anywhere.
"We feel like we're on the build and going towards something special."
