WEST Coast looks certain to finish in the top four for the first time since 2007, but coach John Worsfold says his team will still have to earn its September double chance in the final two rounds of the season.

The Eagles, who had sat in fifth spot since beating Port Adelaide in round 13, stormed into the top four on Saturday with a 57-point win over Essendon at Patersons Stadium.

They face bottom-eight teams the Brisbane Lions (Gabba) and Adelaide (Patersons Stadium) in the next two weeks, but Worsfold said the club was not taking its spot in the top four as a given.

"Fourth in round 22 doesn't mean anything; round 24 is where we want to make sure we're in a good position," the coach said after Saturday's win.

"We've got two big games to go.

"Adelaide have been playing pretty good footy and had a big win today [over Gold Coast], so they're going to be no easy beats. Brisbane in Brisbane is always tough.

"We've got two big challenges that we're keen to take on and nothing is ever a given. You have to go out and earn it."

Worsfold described Saturday's win, which saw the Eagles kick the last seven goals of the game, as solid, with the first half particularly testing in 25-degree heat.

Essendon entered the main break one-point clear, but West Coast's midfield gained a significant edge in the third quarter as the team kicked six goals to two. 

"It was a good challenge for [the midfield] today," Worsfold said. "[Essendon] are a pretty strong inside team - there's some strong bodies in there - so there was a specific challenge for some of the players.

"To come out and run out the game in that second half was very, very pleasing … especially in the third quarter.

"They took a lot of time and space off us and it was a challenge, but the challenge was to dish up the same back to them and see who could outlast each other."

Onballer Daniel Kerr was particularly impressive with 25 disposals and two goals, and Worsfold said the 28-year-old was in good shape ahead of the finals.  

"He's not back to his absolute peak yet but he's a lot closer than he was even at the start of this year," the coach said. "He's just showing his class in terms of how clean he can be and how much he can do in tight, tough games."

Young forward Jack Darling was a late withdrawal on Saturday with hip soreness and he will have scans on Sunday to determine his availability against the Brisbane Lions.

"He just pulled up a little bit sore at training yesterday during some of the work we were doing," Worsfold said.

"If we were desperate to play him we could have got him scanned yesterday during the day and made the call about how he'd pull up today, but we decided that was too much of a risk.

"We were quite happy to rule him out yesterday and very confident that he'd pull up well and be right to go next week."

Kerr suffered a solid hit late in the game but Worsfold said he was confident the midfielder had not suffered rib damage.

While he is likely to be available to face the Lions, vice-captain Beau Waters faces a nervous wait after being reported for rough conduct following a head-high hit on Bomber Jobe Watson in the third quarter. 

Nathan Schmook covers West Coast news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_NSchmook