A PROUD West Coast chairman Russell Gibbs last night backed the Eagles to progress to their seventh grand final, after securing passage to a home preliminary final with a rousing 16-point win over Collingwood in front of a record WA footy crowd.

The Eagles will host either Hawthorn or Melbourne in the second preliminary final at Optus Stadium on Friday September 21 or Saturday September 22.

West Coast progressed to the 1994 grand final and won their second premiership following home finals wins over the Magpies and Demons in a potential omen.

Gibbs said he was in “no doubt” the Eagles could make it back to the big dance three years after the heartbreak of 2015.

“I think we can. I’ve got no doubt we can, the way we played,” he said.

“I think what really struck me was that it was just absolute grit by the boys. They dug deep, they were one man down, and they just kept coming and kept coming.

“It was a fantastic atmosphere. I expected it to be big – that’s the loudest I’ve heard the crowd.

“(A home preliminary final) is really exciting. If you thought it was loud tonight, it’s going to be even louder in the prelim.”

Gibbs refused to give up on defender Brad Sheppard’s season after his hamstring injury in the opening term.

“I spoke to Sheppy after the game and he seemed quite positive and thought a couple of weeks off and he would be right to go,” he said.

“So it was great to hear. We’ve got some great people to fill the role if need be. I’ve got no doubt someone else will come in and do the job.”

Eagles captain Shannon Hurn said he was confident the players would stay grounded amid excitement over the potential for another grand final appearance.

“The hardest thing with footy is every year there gets more and more external noise and interest in the game, which is fantastic for the AFL and West Coast,” Hurn said.

“But it’s a hard balancing act as a player because you’re excited, but you don’t want to get caught up in the hype too much. Because you understand there’s a job to do.

“You’ve got to enjoy it and you listen, but it’s just about what we expect inside the club. That takes a little bit of time to learn but I think we’ve done that pretty well.”

Hurn said he was pleased with the players who played in their first final.

“I think they understand what’s required and that’s the main thing. So until you get put under that pressure you don’t know quite how it’s going to go,” he said.

“But they understand what’s required and our boys stayed pretty calm out there and knew what we had to do.”