WEST Coast could turn to gun recruit Brandon Starcevich to play as a third tall defender after star backman Reuben Ginbey suffered a quad injury in Saturday night's six-point loss to Port Adelaide at Optus Stadium. 

Ginbey pulled up sore after a desperate chase to the goalline in the third quarter, with arguably the club's most important player limping to the boundary and then watching on from the bench during a desperate finish.  

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The 21-year-old, who this week signed a contract extension through to 2030, looks certain to miss multiple matches, with coach Andrew McQualter saying post-match that the injury did not look good. 

The 188cm Starcevich, who has played a tall defensive role previously as a dual premiership player with Brisbane, made his club debut for the Eagles on Saturday night and shapes as a critical player as the Eagles work through options to cover Ginbey. 

"He's done that before, and he's certainly got a strong aerial game, so that'd be an option we look into," McQualter said. 

"It's a bit of a challenge for us, but I thought the guys competed really hard for those last two quarters. (Rhett) Bazzo and (Tylar) Young were really competitive, and I thought they did a good job.

"We've got some options that we'll work our way through, and like any team, having one of your best players [out] is hard to replace, but we'll find a way.

"It didn't look good. Certainly it made me a little bit sad, as I imagine it did for all of our Eagles supporters.

"[But] Reubs is OK. He's a warrior and he'll be fine. Whatever it is, he'll work hard, that's what he does, it's in his DNA, so he'll work hard, he'll be back, he'll be bigger and stronger, and we'll be OK."

McQualter was "gutted" with the result after his team fought back from 22 points down in the third quarter and created repeated chances in the final term to grab what would have been a fifth win for the season. 

The Eagles dominated the inside 50s (19-8) in the final term but couldn't get the match-winning goal they needed, with Port defending grimly under pressure and missed opportunities proving crucial.  

"I'm gutted. I'm gutted that that's the result we got, the outcome we got, but really pleased and proud of the effort and the fight, the will to win, and competing," McQualter said. 

"We're so disappointed with that loss today, and we thought we had chances to win it. But to be able to fight our way through some pressure in that first half …. these guys are finding more ways to fight and compete."

Port Adelaide snapped a four-game losing run and finally prevailed in a tight game after four losses this season by less than a goal, with coach Josh Carr pleased his team could grind out the game under duress. 

There were several players cramping on the bench late as the 4-8 team defended desperately. 

"It probably got a little bit too tight there in the end, but you know, an away game, in front of a big crowd, under a lot of pressure, so it was nice to just get the win in the end," Carr said. 

"We had a number of guys that were off their legs for whatever reason, whether it was just off the break and a number of guys cramping, so again in the end to just get the win and grind it out and walk away with the four points, is what we needed to do."

A feature of the match was the frequent by-play between star midfielders Zak Butters and Harley Reid, with Butters also working his way through a tag from Brady Hough to finish with 27 disposals and seven clearances. 

Carr said he enjoyed the combative nature of the match and was pleased with Butters' efforts to work through attention and help his teammates. 

"I love it. I think all footy people love to see a good contest and good players being super competitive," he said. 

"They were fair and tough, both of them, and they displayed all of that in the game, and both had their highlights through the game.

"I thought he (Butters) played a real team role when it came to getting tagged, and how he can help out his teammates. 

"He gets it every week, so it doesn't really change too much. He's used to it now, and knows how to work through his plan with what that looks like when he gets the tag."