They’re the defending premiers and currently sit second on the ladder, but West Coast will take a backs-against-the-wall approach in Sunday’s clash with Carlton at Marvel Stadium.
The Blues have become one of the AFL’s form teams under interim coach David Teague, winning five of their past seven matches.
West Coast are also in hot form, having won 10 of their past 12 matches to move into second spot on the ladder.
But Eagles coach Adam Simpson is taking nothing for granted against the Blues, telling his charges to expect a fierce battle on enemy territory.
“We see this game as one of the biggest for the year for us, and no doubt for Carlton who have won three in a row,” he said.
“There’ll be 45,000 there. So it will be backs-against-the-wall type of stuff for us. We’re anticipating a pretty heavy contest.
“Most of the time when we travel there’s always the sense of us-versus-them mentality.
“We’re not the fairytale. There’s some really good momentum with Carlton at the moment.
“They probably sit top two or three if you had the ladder over that period that David took over.”
Curbing the influence of star Blues midfielder Patrick Cripps looms as West Coast’s biggest challenge.
Cripps tallied 19 clearances from 39 disposals in last week’s 27-point win over Adelaide.
West Coast have used Elliot Yeo to take on Fremantle superstar Nat Fyfe in the past, and the big-bodied Eagle might get the job on Cripps.
Tagger Mark Hutchings, who has been named in the extended squad after recovering from a hamstring injury, is also a chance to get the tough gig.
Hutchings is 13cm shorter and weighs 9kg less that Cripps, but Simpson believes the 28-year-old could do a good job.
“Hutch has done the job on big, small, quick before,” he said.
“But they’re more than just one midfielder too. It would be really dangerous to assume that Cripps is the only one that does damage.
“The way they’ve developed the last seven weeks and what they’ve done, particularly around the contest, it’s probably top two in most of the areas.”
The Eagles will be boosted by the return of skipper Shannon Hurn from a calf injury, while Tom Cole and Bailey Williams were added to the extended bench along with Hutchings.
Carlton added Zac Fisher, Hugh Goddard, Alex Fasolo, and Matthew Lobbe to their extended squad.