West Coast coach Andrew McQualter says it is promising for the future that eight debutants have forced their way into the team through form this season.
The club announced on Thursday that exciting small forward Malakai Champion would play his first AFL game on Friday night against Greater Western Sydney.
He is the third Eagle to debut in as many games - following Tom McCarthy and Jobe Shanahan - and will be the fifth member of last year's draft class to suit up.
"It's quite a lot of debutants in a year, but every one of them has earned their spot," McQualter said.
"We're just going to keep rewarding that and I think every taste you get of AFL footy you get a bit of an idea of what it's about.
"We got to play the team on top of the ladder last week and see how they go about their business, and you learn some stuff from that.
"Our young midfield has now put probably six or eight consistent games together, and the more they play together the better they'll get.
"We'll just keep rewarding the players in form and picking teams that we think can win each week."
The Eagles have been highly competitive since their only win of the season against St Kilda in round 10, producing an excellent first half against Collingwood to lead by eight points at half-time.
Asked what was required for his young team to turn competitive performances into more wins, McQualter said the Eagles needed to get better at containing opposition scoring when momentum was against them.
"For us it's just about consistency across four quarters. We've probably just battled to put a whole game together at this stage," he said.
"There's been periods of a game where we've played really quite well and had the game on our terms.
"It's just those momentum swings where we've struggled to contain team scoring. So we're working hard on that."
McQualter confirmed that premiership defender Tom Cole (hamstring) and experienced recruit Matt Owies (calf) would return through the WAFL this week after overcoming injuries.
He said exciting draftee Shanahan would continue to play forward after an eye-catching debut against the Magpies, even if his best position could eventually be as a defender.
"I really think Jobe could play either end of the ground and be a really good player, but we'll continue in playing him forward for a little while," McQualter said.
"But if the game needs it, I'll swing him. That's the beauty of what Jobe can bring.
"I thought he competed really well. Every time he's in a contest he looks like he just floats and he can do some things, but he's a young player that's going to take some time.
"We're excited for what Jobe can bring, but we have to be patient with young players as well."
