IT MAY be a symptom of eastern states myopia but the achievement of John Worsfold to transform West Coast from 2010 basket-case to 2011 behemoth has been met outside of Perth with the kind of reaction a grandmother might give an excited 10-year-old as he tries to explain to her the plot of a Transformers movie.

Something along the lines of a benevolent smile and a patronizing "that's nice dear".

It's much more than nice, it's truly astounding. Who saw it coming? Leigh Matthews admitted earlier this week that he didn't, and there aren't many at afl.com.au who would be brave enough to say they thought the Eagles of 2011 would deliver much more than seven or eight wins.

But there they sit in fifth spot with 10 wins from 14 games. The House of Pain (still in the suburb of Subiaco but now named Pattersons Stadium) has returned as the most intimidating home ground in the AFL and all that looked creakingly old in 2010 is new again this year.

In fact, the 2006 Eagles premiership team is having a heck of an anniversary season five years on.

Dean Cox has been a lock in for our Greatest Team of All ruck spot all year, Daniel Kerr has been damaging in almost every game he's played, Darren Glass has overcome last year's abdominal pain to return to locking down the best opposition forwards while injury has been the only thing to curtail Sam Butler's best season for the club.

In the midfield, Andrew Embley has been outstanding and torched the Cats for 32 possessions on Friday night, reminding everyone of the Norm Smith Medal winner's quality. Quentin Lynch, last seen roaming up on the half-forward flank looking for 70 metre kicks, has now teamed with Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy to provide a well structured triple threat of talls in the Eagles' forward line.

There's also Rebecca Twigley's husband, now playing in Melbourne apparently, who remains the AFL's standard-bearer for running midfielders.

And so this week it came to pass that Greatest Team of All had to acknowledge how fine West Coast have been this year and have consequently brought in a pair of high-flying Eagles along with a young Magpie defender who is already playing like Darren Glass.

Into our team come Matt Priddis and Mark LeCras.

Priddis' flowing locks have been seen disposing of the football 28 times a game this season and the handball has been his weapon of choice. He's the league leader in that category, delivering 17.2 of them per game.

LeCras has been winning plenty of ball in the midfield now that the Eagles have a taller forward line and aren't relying solely on him for goals. He's still slotted 27 majors but he's also averaging 17 disposals a game as well and using his precision foot skills to deliver the ball into the tall timber inside 50 time after time.

Collingwood's Ben Reid looks to be yet another Collingwood player to have less than 50 games in the bank yet still have the required maturity to slot straight into a high quality side without any risk of a dip in form or loss of structure.

Reid was originally thought to be a similar forward option to his brother Sam at the Swans but his closing speed and outstanding ability to read the play (he ranks second in the league in marks from opposition kicks) make him first choice for tall forwards who dare to poke their heads up in the Magpies defensive half.

On Sunday, Reid made Drew Petrie all but invisible and the week before, with the Hawks failing to make him accountable, he racked up 31 damaging possessions.

The underperforming Tigers got their warning from Greatest Team of All last week and the dismal second half showing against Essendon mean that, for now, the time is up for Dustin Martin, Brett Deledio and Jack Riewoldt, who was attracting Bronx cheers from the crowd in the final quarter at the MCG on Saturday.

The young Richmond side appears a pretty tired bunch right now but they need only to look west for a side that's bucking every theory about rebuilding through the draft and the decimation of established lists by new clubs.

Damien Hardwick might not have a premiership in the bag like John Worsfold to use as currency, but if he can work some similar magic next year, then the doom and gloom around Punt Road this week will be forgotten quicker than a Transformers sequel.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs