‘Gutted’ Eagles coach rues wasted chances as rising star’s injury blow creates fresh headache

West Coast coach Andrew McQualter was left “gutted” by his side’s six-point loss to Port Adelaide on Saturday night as he shared an update on the injury concern to key defender Reuben Ginbey.

The Eagles fought back from 22 points down during the third quarter to come within a kick of hitting the lead late in the game.

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West Coast’s last four scores of the match were all behinds as they narrowly missed the chance to nab a fifth win of the season despite leading the inside 50s 19-8 in the final term.

“I’m gutted. I’m gutted that that’s the result we got, the outcome we got, but really pleased and proud of the effort and the fight, the will to win, and competing,” McQualter said.

“We’re so disappointed with that loss today, and we thought we had chances to win it. But to be able to fight our way through some pressure in that first half …. these guys are finding more ways to fight and compete.”

McQualter said dual Brisbane Lions premiership player Brandon Starcevich can fill the void left by Ginbey if his injury keeps the 21-year-old sidelined for an extended period.

Ginbey, who only just signed a contract extension until the end of 2030, limped from Optus Stadium in the third quarter.

A quad injury is likely to keep him sideline for some time.

Ginbey has arguably been the Eagles best player this season, trying to keep the competition’s best forwards quiet each week.

His injury came about trying to run down Port’s Mitch Georgiades as he kicked his only goal of the night.

But McQualter said Starcevich, who made his debut for the Eagles on Saturday night after overcoming his own injury, is going to become an important player for his new side.

“He’s done that before, and he’s certainly got a strong aerial game, so yep, that’d be an option we look into,” McQualter said of Starcevich filling in for Ginbey.

“At the end of the day, we, like most teams, need great pressure on the ball anyway, which I thought, for the most part of the game, we had tonight.

“(Ginbey) didn’t look good, certainly it made me a little bit sad, as I imagine it did for all of our Eagles supporters.

“But we don’t know. We’ll go away, we’ll do all the tests required and see what happens.

“It’s a bit of a challenge for us, but I thought the guys competed really hard for those last two quarters, you know, (Rhett) Bazzo and (Tylar) Young were really competitive.

“I thought they did a good job.

“We’ve got some options that we’ll work our way through, and you know, like any team, having one of your best players is hard to replace, but we’ll find a way.”

Starcevich joined the Eagles during this off season, after playing 132 games for Brisbane. He was restricted to just nine in 2025, but played in the grand final win.

He played only two WAFL games before being called up to the AFL.

He had 13 touches against Port, two clearances and four tackles.

McQualter was just happy to finally have him in the line up.

“It was awesome to see Starce play for us,” he said.

“I think he’s only going to get better.

“He’s missed a lot of football, so he had a few cramps there late in the game and worked his way through it.

“But the more he plays with these guys, understands the way we play, he’s going to be so important for us.”

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