WEST Coast will go to school on Greater Western Sydney's upset win in Geelong as the reigning premiers attempt to steady their season with a raid on the Cattery this Sunday, star midfielder Luke Shuey says.
The Eagles have a woeful record at GMHBA Stadium, losing their past five by an average margin of 10 goals.
West Coast's last triumph came 13 years ago when John Worsfold's men clawed back from 54 points down nearing time-on in the third quarter to snatch a stunning three-point victory.
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Since the turn of the century, the Eagles have only that win and a draw to show from 11 trips to Geelong.
Patrick Dangerfield flies during West Coast's last visit to Geelong in 2016. Picture: AFL Photos
This week, West Coast is taking the unusual approach of chartering a flight to nearby Avalon Airport in a bid to shorten the trip and turnaround journey after taking on the League-leading Cats in a 4.40pm bouncedown.
"It's nearly the toughest road trip in footy, isn't it?" Shuey told AFL.com.au.
The Giants stifled the Cats in round four, holding them to four goals after half-time in a gutsy four-point victory, and how the Eagles defend the narrow oval will be telling.
Geelong's ground is a similar width (115m) to West Coast's soon-to-be-defunct base at Subiaco Oval (122m wide) and, amid controversy over Optus Stadium's hard surface, the Eagles trained at their old home venue this week.
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West Coast revolutionised its style from the famed 'Weagles Web' during the final years at Subiaco to a kick-mark brand which suited Optus Stadium and it helped Adam Simpson's team overcome their MCG fallibility on the way to a stunning flag.
But Shuey doubted the Eagles would significantly change their approach to suit Geelong's narrow dimensions.
"I don't know if we'll so much adapt to the ground, the game will probably be played a little bit differently, but we won't try to change too much what we do," Shuey said.
"We'll try to win the contest, as every team does.
"They have been going really well. GWS knocked them off last weekend at home, so we might have a look at that.
"I think the biggest thing for us is getting things right we didn't (in a 42-point loss to Port Adelaide)."
Lifting their deficiency in ground-ball – contested possessions won at ground level, excluding free kicks – will be a major focus after losing that key stat by 30 against the Power on a slippery Good Friday evening.
The Eagles were ranked 17th in ground-ball last year, and are 18th this season, but their differential has slid from -9.1 per game to -18.
"They were good in the contest. I wouldn't say we didn't work hard enough, but they were on," Shuey said of the Power.
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"I think they were just better in every important area than what we were and it's hard to win games when you're like that.
"It didn't really feel like us, but they played well. They had a bit of flair from the back half and we weren't able to stop it."
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The Eagles have struggled to rediscover their best across the opening five rounds, with teams successfully shutting down their ball movement.
West Coast ranks 13th for scoring (76.4 points per game) and has plummeted from fifth in inside 50 differential last season (+2.4) to 17th (-8.6).
"We've probably been inconsistent," Shuey said.
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"It felt like we were stuck in the back half a bit (against Port Adelaide), but every time we got it forward we just weren't able to lock it in there either.
"We've had games where we've felt like us, so that's frustrating, but it's not all alarm bells for us at the moment, it's still early, and we've done a lot right until now.
"But we've got things to work on, obviously."
