WEST Coast coach Andrew McQualter says young star Reuben Ginbey has to be in the mix for a maiden All-Australian selection after producing one of the best performances of his short career against Essendon on Sunday night. 

Ginbey was best afield in the Eagles' 30-point win at Optus Stadium, holding Nate Caddy goalless for three-and-a-half quarters before the young Bomber kicked a pair of late goals in an entertaining duel. 

EAGLES v BOMBERS Full match coverage and stats

The Eagles' primary key defender this season, Ginbey has produced excellent lockdown performances against key forwards including Aaron Cadman, Nick Larkey, Charlie Curnow, Josh Treacy and Jeremy Cameron, despite often being outsized at 191cm. 

His determination to impact contests on Sunday night saw him finish with a game-high 11 intercept possessions and seven spoils, as well as five intercept marks and 17 disposals. 

"I think it was one of Reubs' best games he's played in my opinion … he is as dialled in as anyone I've ever seen, the way he competes and plays," McQualter said on Sunday night after the Eagles' fourth win this season. 

"He's starting to really win the ball back. He almost never loses a contest, but his ability tonight to win the ball back with 11 or 12 intercepts, that's the next stage to his game. 

"This is a young man still building his game, still working out what type of player he's going to become, and I think we saw a huge step forward for him tonight.

"If you just look at his contest work, he has to be [All-Australian]. There's some good players, but I just think Reuben absolutely is one of the best key defenders in the game."

McQualter highlighted the "enormous will to win" that drives Ginbey, with the 21-year-old lifting his backline teammates in a patch of form for West Coast that now stretches back to its strong last quarter against Melbourne in round nine. 

The coach said four wins before hitting the mid-season bye had shown the Eagles were building and maturing as a young team, with the group able to fight back when challenged on Sunday and keep the game on their terms. 

"I think we're getting a lot of evidence in the last three weeks, maybe three and a half weeks, of the type of team we want to become and the way we want the game to look and be played," the coach said. 

"For our players, the more evidence we get, it fuels their confidence. We're seeing some growth in our game and some growth in our players. 

"But make no mistake, we've got so much more work to do. We're still a long way off where we want to be."

McQualter highlighted the pressure side of Harley Reid's game against the Bombers, as well as the competitiveness of half-forward Milan Murdock (three goals) and balanced performance of tall defender Tylar Young. 

The coach said the Eagles would continue to monitor their first- and second-year players and make the call to rest them for a match if they thought it was necessary. 

Essendon caretaker Dean Solomon fronted his first post-match media conference as coach and said it had been a tough week for the club after Brad Scott's departure, but the team had rallied in the days before Sunday's clash. 

Captain Andrew McGrath and leader Mason Redman travelled with the team despite injuries, and Solomon said the opportunity to spend time on the road together had been positive. 

He addressed the groundswell of support among fans for former coach James Hird to return, saying he had insulated himself from distractions and was confident the team would not be impacted by coaching speculation.   

"I honestly have shut down with all my social media … I've sort of had to control what I can control, focus on what I can focus on, and that's leading this club, and these staff members, and the players in the short term," Solomon said. 

"So I don't think it's going to have any impact on me. And I can't really speak on behalf of the players, but I'm sure we're all locked into what we need to do right now."

Solomon said he would stick with key defender Ben McKay in a new forward/ruck role after the former North Melbourne backman kicked his first goal since 2022 and had six clearances.

"I've worked with Ben throughout the season as his defensive coach, and I've just seen traits that I liked that I thought he'd go forward and impact the game," Solomon said. 

"I said that to him about seven weeks ago … and obviously, got the opportunity just to make some decisions around that and threw it up to the coaches. We discussed it, and we thought he had some reasonable impact.

"There's a bit to work there with, I reckon. He'll get better as the weeks go on. So we like what we saw. Right here, right now, absolutely, we'll stick with it."

Solomon said tall forward Archie May would need to be assessed after suffering a dislocated shoulder in the first quarter.