THE SKY is the limit for West Coast this season but the immediate challenge is to put together consistent performances each week, Eagles defender Will Schofield says.
West Coast vaulted to second on the ladder with a gutsy 10-point win over Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
In doing so, the Eagles cast aside the 'flat-track bully' label that has dogged them over the past 18 months, due to the club's lack of wins against premiership contenders and huge victories over struggling clubs.
But Schofield said external assessments of the group didn't interest the team at all. Instead, he said the belief internally was high and the challenge was to produce consistency in performance.
"We expect big things from the team," Schofield said.
"It's an exciting year for us. It's a really young group so the sky is the limit, I suppose, for us.
"But we're just going to have to move on week after week and perform consistently. You can't come out one week and perform well and then the next drop off. Good teams are really consistent so that's what we aim to do."
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The Eagles' season appeared doomed by their extraordinary injury list, highlighted by the loss of key defenders Eric Mackenzie and Mitch Brown to knee reconstructions.
But the defence has been outstanding over the past three weeks, conceding just 21 goals in three games. Schofield, who has had to shift from a running defender who plays on smalls and talls to a key defender playing deep in the goal square, said the injuries had galvanised the defensive unit and improved their cohesion.
"It's probably 18 months of hard work starting to come to fruition," Schofield said.
"We're developing as a backline and losing those guys has accelerated it a little bit.
"It just means you have to rely on everyone to do their job, which should be how we are playing all of the time. So it has forced us a little bit into that.
"We can't just rely on Eric Mackenzie getting the job done on the best player every week. Everyone has to do their role and it does work when you have everyone on the same page."
The Eagles have a six-day turnaround before fronting up against Gold Coast on Saturday night at Domain Stadium. The Suns have endured a difficult year to date, winning just one game, but they should benefit from the return of Harley Bennell, Brandon Matera and Trent McKenzie from club-imposed suspensions for breaking an alcohol ban.
Schofield said the Eagles players wouldn't be sledging the trio about their off-field indiscretions.
"There's not too much you can say these days," he said.
"You've probably just got to get on and play footy, and let Gold Coast handle what's going on with them, and hopefully we just focus on what's happening with us.
"They played us here last year, and very nearly beat us in that last quarter. I'll be expecting them to take us right on, and expecting nothing less than that regardless of what's been happening off the field."
