CARLTON coach Mathew Buck says his side will go into Saturday's elimination final full of confidence having defeated West Coast just eight days earlier.

The Blues travelled to Western Australia to play the Eagles last Friday night, beating the home side by 20 points to cement their place in finals.

Sydney's surprise loss to Essendon meant the Eagles were given a second chance, finishing the home and away season in eighth place and setting up a re-match between the two sides on Saturday afternoon at Ikon Park.

"We absolutely do (take confidence from last week's win)," Buck told reporters at Ikon Park on Thursday morning.

"It was a tough travel to go over there and execute what we wanted to, but we certainly have an understanding that West Coast will bring their absolute best over here on the weekend and we'll certainly be ready for that and for any kind of differences in the game that we might see as well.

"Daisy Pearce has had a phenomenal playing history in the finals, so we expect that she'll bring their best for West Coast this time as well."

Buck said his side is preparing for the return of Eagles defender Jess Rentsch, who missed last week's match due to suspension.

"We know they're (the Eagles) great at the contest and they'll get Jess Rentsch back, who's a great contested player as well," Buck said.

"So we'll have to prepare again for that and then be ready to handle their big forwards. 

"(They're the) best contested marking team in the comp, and it's really important that we can win half those battles and get the ball to ground."

The Blues will be playing finals footy for the first time since 2020, with only a handful of players on their list having experience at the pointy end of the season.

Buck said he has told his players to be prepared for a lift in intensity.

"It's really important for them to understand that there'll be an intensity lift once we get into the game," Buck said.

"We're preparing them for that now and we'll execute a training today and be ready for it."