West Coast coach John Worsfold has sent an ominous warning to the rest of the AFL, declaring that in-form ruckman Nic Naitanui still has improvement in him.
Naitanui enjoyed arguably the best game in his blossoming career in a 10-point win against Carlton last Thursday, tallying a career-high 25 possessions to go with 31 hitouts.
The 22-year-old has significantly improved his output across the season as well, as his 14.2 disposals and 26.7 hitouts per game are well up on his 2011 averages (13 and 19.9 respectively).
While the No.2 overall pick from the 2008 national draft is already playing a crucial role for the league-leading Eagles, Worsfold said ahead of Saturday's top-of-the-table clash with Collingwood that Naitanui had not come close to reaching his full potential.
"Definitely he will continue to get better," he said.
"It's not a high priority for us, the number of possessions he gets. It's more his role within the team and how he goes about it.
"I don't think he's going to average 25 possessions per game, that's an exceptional game in terms of impact... but that's not the sole stat that will dictate how much he's contributed.
"The pressure he brings around the contested footy is sensational for us, we expect that he still plays his role in that regard.
"He's got a role to play and (that is to) bring his enthusiasm, his strength and speed and power to the team.
"(His possessions) might not mean his possessions go up but his understanding of what he can bring to the team will keep improving."
Naitanui is far from the only West Coast player whose improvement has helped the WA side to a 9-2 win-loss record though, as the likes of Scott Selwood, Chris Masten and Andrew Gaff have all dramatically lifted their output.
That has Worsfold extremely confident the Eagles are better primed to face the Magpies at the MCG than they were in either of their losses to them last year.
West Coast lost to Collingwood by 52 points in Round 10 before falling short by 20 points in the qualifying final.
"We're a better team now overall. Our squad is a stronger squad now," Worsfold said.
"I think we've shown with some key players out, in the same situation last year, maybe we wouldn't have won as many games as we have. That's how much the squad's growing."