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Eagles embrace fight for AFL finals berth

West Coast have recorded a thumping win over Brisbane in the AFL, but the Eagles are no certainties to play finals.

Luke Partington of the West Coast Eagles celebrates a goal
West Coast had plenty to celebrate in their big win over Brisbane. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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West Coast coach Adam Simpson believes his team took a small step forward in their 68-point win over Brisbane, but he knows they still face a major battle to lock away an AFL finals berth.

The Eagles moved back into eighth spot with the 17.11 (113) to 6.9 (45) AFL win over the Lions at Domain Stadium on Sunday.

Despite the big win, West Coast's finals hopes remain on a knife's edge.

The Eagles need three wins from their final four games to guarantee a top-eight finish.

Two wins might be enough depending on other results.

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Sunday's match against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium looms as a critical fixture - for both sides.

Lose that, and West Coast's season could be gone, especially with games against flag fancies Adelaide and GWS to come in the final two rounds.

St Kilda (9-9) also need to win to stay in the finals hunt.

Simpson declared his team are up for the fight.

"There was a fair bit of hysteria (after the loss to Collingwood)," Simpson said.

"But there's still four games left.

"The noise on the outside, you need to pay attention to it at some stage. But at the moment we need to focus on what we can control.

"It was a good result against Brisbane.

"We've still got a lot of work to do in a lot of areas. I thought we took a small step forward."

Ruckman Scott Lycett's season appears over because of an ongoing shoulder issue.

The Eagles will release more details about the injury later this week.

Former Cat Nathan Vardy missed the win over Brisbane with a glute injury, and he's no certainty to return against St Kilda.

It means 34-year-old veteran Drew Petrie might need to shoulder the bulk of the ruck duties again.

Brownlow medallist Matt Priddis will return against St Kilda if he can recover from his quad injury, while speedster Lewis Jetta (calf) will also attempt to prove his fitness.

Eagles forward Josh Kennedy booted six goals against the Lions to be just four goals adrift of Coleman medal leader Joe Daniher (53 goals)


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