West Coast coach Andrew McQualter says his side is relishing the challenge of taking on a red-hot Brisbane outfit at Optus Stadium on Saturday night as the Eagles continue to search for a breakthrough result.
The Lions arrive in Perth on the back of a strong run of form, winning five-in-a-row, with McQualter describing the back-to-back premiers as an ideal test for his developing side.
"The last probably five to six weeks have been back to their best form and it's a great opportunity for our guys to test themselves against a two-time reigning premiership team and a team in form," McQualter said.
"It's going to be a challenge, but we really look forward to it and testing our game and our players testing themselves against some of the best players in the competition."
McQualter said Brisbane's resurgence was no surprise given the continuity the club has built under long-time coach Chris Fagan.
"They're really experienced. They've played together for a long time now and they've been coached really well by the same person for a long time in Chris Fagan," he said.
"It's not a surprise they've really found form, and our aim is to try and take some things away from them tomorrow night and make this game really difficult.
"If we hang around long enough, who knows what can happen?"
Brisbane's ability to control possession and dictate the tempo of games will be a key challenge for the Eagles, with McQualter highlighting the Lions' cohesion and experience as major strengths.
"They're an unbelievable control team when they can control the ball and it certainly allows them to set the ground the way they want to and have it looking the way they want," McQualter said.
"Like everyone that plays Brisbane, it will be a priority to try and reduce their marks, but it's not easy to do.
"These guys have played a lot of footy together and they're good at it, so it's going to be a challenge, but it's one we're looking forward to."
While West Coast has fallen short in recent weeks, McQualter believes performances against Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs showed encouraging signs that the team is trending in the right direction.
The Eagles have been in both games in the final term before going down by 25 points to the Crows and 16 against the Dogs last Sunday.
"We're getting enough evidence from our games that we've got some growth, but we just have to do it for longer periods of time," McQualter said.
"We think last week was a lot about moments, why we didn't win the game, but we were in a position to beat the Bulldogs, who were seventh on the ladder.
"We were in a position the week before to beat the Crows, who were one of the form teams in the competition.
"Our gap is to be able to win one of these games and some of these games in the not-too-distant future."
