West Coast coach John Worsfold has described forward Mark LeCras' 12-goal haul as one of the best in the club's history after he single-handedly dismantled Essendon's defence in the Eagles' 32-point upset win at Etihad Stadium.
Le Cras was in rare touch, turning back the clock, as he called upon all the skills in his armory to pick up 22 touches and 12 marks on his way to 12.2 - from set shots on 50, from the boundary and snaps on the run.
He had seven to half-time, notched his eighth soon after the break, booted his 10th just 18 minutes into the third term before making it 12 with a typically cool set shot with just four minutes remaining in the last quarter.
So good was LeCras that he disposed of five different opponents. Heath Hocking, Dustin Fletcher, Courtenay Dempsey, Nathan Lovett-Murray and Mark McVeigh all had cracks at him but couldn't stop what was a truly breathtaking performance.
Worsfold couldn't hide his delight when asked where he rated LeCras' game in context of the club's history.
"It has to be right up there, there are not too many bags of goals kicked like that so it has to be one of the great forward performances for sure," Worsfold said.
"It was one of those special games, they don't come around very often. We know how talented he is...it was a very special game for him."
And it wasn't just the accuracy of LeCras' kicking Worsfold was impressed with.
"The number of opportunities he had tonight, he's been terrific for us all year and he's kicked goals all year for us. He's clever on the lead and on the ground," he said.
Despite his potency up forward Worsfold didn't rule out a move into the midfield for his star man in the future.
"Absolutely, I think he's got the ability to play in the midfield but we're building some of the younger players through there. He's had some soreness this season so when the time's right we'll move him in there."
The win proved a landmark for the Eagles, not just for LeCras' outstanding achievement but because it ended their seven-game losing streak after a tumultuous couple of months.
"It's a great reward for our supporters, they've been great this year and it's been tough, we understand that and we've said several times we don't like being where we are."
"We're not happy with where we are but we're very clear on where we're going and we want to stick to that and hopefully we'll get the rewards down the track."
Worsfold pointed to last week's improved performance against the high-flying Crows at Subiaco - where the Eagles went down by 22 points - as a good indication of the improvement the side has made.
He described the Crows' form as "red-hot" and the Adelaide game as a turning point for the playing group after they'd played without "flair" and "confidence" for a number of weeks.
"I think we continued on well from last week… the players set themselves to show that they can play with that intensity away from Perth."
Worsfold was particularly pleased with the poise under pressure and form of some of his younger players in Ashley Smith and Ashton Hams, who had 18 disposals and kicked three goals.
"I thought Ash Smith, in some hot-spots, showed some poise coming out (of defence)."
"Ashton Hams has showed good pressure for us and he's a good mark, beautiful kick. He hasn't played a lot up forward in the WAFL but he's playing a role for us," he said.