HISTORY repeated in the most extraordinary circumstances as West Coast overcame a week of trauma to record one of the club’s most famous victories at Adelaide Oval.

In an eerie repeat of last year’s elimination final when Luke Shuey kicked the winning goal after the siren, defender Jeremy McGovern was the hero from almost the identical spot on the ground as the Eagles beat Port Adelaide by four points.

It was a cruel blow for the Power, who lost three players to injury during the third term including star pair Paddy Ryder and Charlie Dixon.

The stunning upset goes a long way towards sealing a top-two finish for the second-placed Eagles, which would bring a pair of historic finals to Optus Stadium next month.

It capped a highly emotional week at West Coast after star midfielder Andrew Gaff’s eight-week ban for punching Andrew Brayshaw in the western derby.

Gaff is understood to be planning to spend more time with his parents in Melbourne this week, before a likely return to Perth on Thursday.

The Eagles believe it is in his best interests to join in some training with his teammates, at least in the short term. An informal coaching role is also a possibility.

Sources last night described the question of the restricted free agent’s long-term future as “fluid and open to change”.

Those close to Gaff believe his mental state has improved since Tuesday’s tribunal hearing.

The Eagles sent a photo from their victorious rooms to Gaff, who is thought to have watched the game on TV from Melbourne.

Coach Adam Simpson described his playing group as galvanised as they defied a week of criticism, then taking the field without Gaff and injured pair Nic Naitanui and Josh Kennedy.

“We’ve been tight for a long time. The group’s galvanised and there’s a real squad mentality. I think we’ve had it since round one,” Simpson said.

“You’re not going to win every week, but I think for the most part you can’t question the spirit of the players and the humility with which they carry themselves.”

McGovern’s goal, which made it the first time the Eagles had led all game, prompted wild on-field celebrations.

The after-the-siren match-winner last night told The Sunday Times his magic moment meant more to him because of the circumstances that had preceded the game.

“It’s a great win for the club. We’ve had a really tough week. We can’t shy away from that,” McGovern said.

“With the Gaff incident, but then obviously our culture and inside the club, we got attacked a little bit. It was a good win for the boys. We always knew we had that belief internally and we knew what type of club we are.

“We’re a team, we’re a collective and we rely on everyone. It was a good opportunity for everyone to dig deep today.”

He said the trip to South Australia “was a good opportunity for us to unite. We’ve been a pretty united group.”

Shuey said: “It’s been a big a week ... in a sense we brought it upon ourselves. We’ve had a lot of things questioned this week, one of them culture, and I don’t think there is a better way to respond than a performance like that.”

McGovern said Gaff would have been thrilled with the result.

“I’m hoping that would have brightened his day a bit and put a smile on his face,” he said.

“I’m sure he would have jumped up off the couch and wherever he was watching and I’m sure he was fist pumping.

“I’ve had a bit of contact with him. He’s obviously been laying low a fair bit. He’s still pretty upset about the whole thing. He’s getting better in his spirits. He’s a good fella, everyone knows he didn’t mean it.”

Captain Shannon Hurn said the Eagles were capable of anything this season, despite the losses of Gaff and Naitanui.

“When you get a win like this you always have a lot of confidence. You just don’t know because you can get on a roll,” Hurn said.

“I think our team spirit’s pretty good. Blokes understand what they’re meant to be doing and if we do that, we’re a good shot.”

Hurn said Gaff had been in a better state of mind since the tribunal process finished.

“He seems to be a lot better. He’s very remorseful for what happened and the incident. But getting Tuesday out of the road probably helped for him to move on,” he said.

“I think he would have been very excited for the group. He might not have watched it (the game), I don’t know. It might be hard to watch.”

Tension in the crowd built throughout the second half in a reminder of the last time these teams met at this venue, when the Eagles prevailed in an epic extra-time classic in last season’s elimination final.

There were boos yesterday for Shuey, who shrugged Jared Polec’s tackle around his neck in the dying seconds of that match before kicking his winning goal after the extra-time siren.

The Eagles played without Gaff for just the second time since he was a teenager. The industrious left-footer has played 169 games since then, broken only by the one game he missed in the middle of the 2016 season.