WEST Coast must improve its team defence ahead of a date with its Grand Final conqueror Hawthorn next Sunday at the MCG, according to Eagles coach Adam Simpson.

The Eagles belted the Brisbane Lions in round one by 64 points but they conceded 102 points from 45 inside 50 entries to leave Simpson frustrated with elements of his side's defence.

Simpson said the high-scoring game partly reflected a new trend of attacking football that has emerged over the pre-season and round one but said that did not excuse his side's defensive performance.

"I'm not entirely happy about the defence but we came across a team that really shaped and pushed hard through the corridor and our ability to defend that was a little bit off I thought," Simpson said post-match.

"We conceded over 100 points from (45) entries. That's not good enough for our team defence.

"Our ability to score ourselves, obviously when we turned it over we had free men everywhere, but I think we can defend a bit better."

The Eagles defence is adjusting to a change in personnel with 2014 best and fairest Eric Mackenzie returning to the fold after missing all of last season with a knee injury.

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Simpson was pleased with Mackenzie's first home and away game back – he played two games in the NAB Challenge – but said Mackenzie also had things to improve on.

"I'm really happy for him that he got through the game," Simpson said.

"We saw glimpses of his best and we saw some areas that he can keep working on. Overall I thought he was a good contributor but there's still some work to do."

Simpson was confident the Eagles could sharpen their team defence ahead next Sunday's clash with the Hawks. Last year's premiers ripped the Eagles apart in the Grand Final and exposed some flaws but Simpson said they posed a different challenge to that of the Lions.

The Lions used handball and dare as opposed to the Hawks' ruthless precision kicking.

"Hawthorn play a little bit differently but more and more teams are going to take you on and your ability to defend that in the right way is the challenge," Simpson said.

"We can't overplay (this week). Today was a really important game for us. We knew that Brisbane had been working really hard on some things and they challenged us so that was the focus. Now we focus on Hawthorn.

"There'll be a big build-up, I'm assuming, and that's a good thing. That just adds to our experience and we learnt a lot from last year."

The Eagles got through round one unscathed and will have some selection headaches heading into the Hawthorn clash. Star recruit Lewis Jetta should be available to play if he gets through training after missing round one with a calf complaint.

Simpson said Jetta was a certain starter should he complete training. Midfielder Chris Masten is also a chance to play after recovering from the ankle injury he suffered in February.