NIC NAITANUI'S towering mark and goal after the siren on Friday night had John Worsfold wishing.

Wishing he had had Naitanui in that pocket at the MCG on the last Saturday in September 2005.

"In 2005 it would have been handy to have Nic flying for a certain mark," Worsfold said, referencing the thrilling end to that year's Grand Final that saw Sydney Swan Leo Barry take a match-saving mark as the Eagles made one final push for the premiership.

"Then it would have been Leo who?"

The Eagles coach was in an unusually playful mood after his star saved his side's blushes with the winning goal after the siren to give West Coast its fourth win of the year.

"Luke Shuey shanked his kick just to give Nic the glory, so that was sacrificial for the team," Worsfold joked.

"He could have been the hero himself, but he said 'that bloke with dreadlocks will probably get more coverage than me'.

"It happened so quick. Looking at the clock, it was 'just kick it in long'. Nic was the one we were probably thinking might be able to mark it, and somehow he did it."

Worsfold was asked whether he had faith in Naitanui kicking the goal to win the game.

"Absolutely. I backed him to mark it, and kick a goal."

Worsfold said the hype surrounding Naitanui and Majak Daw coming into the match was fantastic for the game.

"It was wonderful to have that build-up, and for Nic to deliver that makes it a special moment in our club's season and history.

"We'll see it a few times, I suppose."

Worsfold was pleased with the nature of the win, but acknowledged his side still had some issues to rectify.

"It was a hard-fought win. Losing (Sharrod) Wellingham early and (Will) Schofield, we were restricted a bit.

"We fought back after a pretty poor first quarter to make the game a real contest."

Goalkicking was again a major concern for the Eagles.

After kicking a combined 17.42 to lose matches against Carlton and Port Adelaide, the Eagles thought they had solved the problem, kicking 38.17 in the wins against the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane Lions. But on Friday night, they kicked 12.18 – and it nearly cost them.

"Our goalkicking again was a bit poor," he said.

"We didn't deserve to be in front because we didn't grab our opportunities, but we kept fighting at it and then eventually we kicked those couple of goals that we needed."

West Coast now sits at 4-4 with a trip to Greater Western Sydney next week, but they may travel without Wellingham and Schofield.

Wellingham will have an MRI to assess his injured left ankle, while Schofield will have surgery to fix a compound dislocation of his finger.