There can be no more delaying or denying; West Coast are officially in the AFL premiership mix.
And they’re one match away from taking pole position in the hunt for a most unlikely flag, with premiers Richmond visiting Optus Stadium next Sunday in a genuine AFL blockbuster.
The Eagles and Tigers (both 7-1) are two games clear of the rest of the competition after the opening two months.
That Damien Hardwick’s side are on top is no surprise.
Trent Cotchin helped the premiers strong-arm their way to another victory on Sunday with a 10-point win over North Melbourne (4-4).
But the Eagles have kept passing tests this season and cannot be left out of the premiership conversation any more.
West Coast limped into the finals last year in eighth and weren’t among anyone’s pre-season list of contenders.
They’ve won seven straight since an opening round loss to Sydney, defeating highly-fancied GWS Giants on the road by 25 points on Saturday.
“The collective resolve of the players and belief is really high at the moment,” Eagles coach Adam Simpson said.
“But that (flag) talk, that’s your talk.
“There’s belief against the players but I don’t think we’re getting ahead of ourselves at all.
“(Against GWS) we played with real spirit .. we did it as a whole and as a collective.
“We’ve got a few early wins this season which is bloody great.”
The early wins mean that even if the Eagles lose to Richmond, they can still reach the finals just by winning each home match on the run in.
But Simpson certainly isn’t giving away Sunday’s match, especially with Jeremy McGovern (calf) and Nic Naitanui (suspension) set to return.
“An eight-day break and a magnificent opportunity to see how we go against the best … they’re in as good form as they’ve ever been,” he said.
“I’m assuming (McGovern) will be available along with Nic, Dom Sheed as well and maybe Lewis Jetta.”
Below the top two, the logjam in the middle of the table shows no sign of clearing.
Six teams, headed by Sunday winners Geelong have five wins and five more have four wins.
The Cats edged Collingwood (4-4) in a low-scoring affair, giving star midfield trio Gary Ablett, Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood their first in together.
Melbourne (5-3) were the weekend’s biggest winners by smashing Gold Coast by 69 points, equalling an AFL record with 83 inside-50s.
Ben Cunnington also set a new league record, snaring 32 contested possessions in the Kangaroos’ tight defeat on Sunday.
Ben Brown and Jed Anderson missed late shots for Brad Scott’s side that would have given them an almighty upset.
Adelaide and Hawthorn (both 5-3) missed chances to move within a game of the top two with tight losses to rivals.
Port Adelaide (5-3) edged the Crows by five points in a classic showdown, while Ben Ronke kicked seven goals to give Sydney (5-3) a seven-point defeat of the Hawks.
