West Coast coach Andrew McQualter says Willem Duursma’s ability to impact the game from anywhere is making it hard to figure out how best to use their No.1 pick.

Duursma has started the Eagles’ previous two games, against Carlton at Marvel Stadium and Adelaide at Optus Stadium, in the forward line.

However, the Eagles were spanked six goals to two in the first term against both clubs, with the young side’s engine room struggling to prevent opposition clearances.

West Coast were never able to recover against Carlton, but turned the game around against Adelaide on Friday night after Duursma entered the middle in the second half.

The rookie ended the game with 12 touches and two clearances to go with a goal as the Eagles threatened to overturn a match-high 43-point deficit before going down by 25.

It drew criticism, particularly from fans, who want to see the star prospect in the thick of the action alongside housemate Harley Reid.

And even McQualter admits finding Duursma’s best position has been difficult.

“I’ve said this from the start, that he’s a big challenge where we put him because he can play everywhere,” he told 7NEWS on Monday night.

“So, we used him forward in the first half and then midfield through the whole second half, and I thought he had some good influence on the game.

“We’re certainly going to have to work out how we can optimise him because he’s a terrific young player.”

The second-year coach also doubled down on his support of under-fire veteran Elliot Yeo, who produced one of the worst performances of his career on Friday night with just seven touches, the least of any player on the ground.

McQualter said the aging star was impacting the game regardless of how many times he touched the footy.

“Yeoy didn’t have his greatest game, and I think that’s okay, but he also has an impact on the game without touching the ball sometimes,” he said.

“Just his presence, his physicality, and he’s still important for us, and he gets to play his 200th game for the Eagles this week, which is a great achievement, and we’re really looking forward to celebrating him.”

The 226-gamer may come under pressure if he can’t lift his ratings against Western Bulldogs on Sunday with McQualter acknowledging there were a few players in the WAFL putting their hands up for selection, including out-of-contract midfielder Elijah Hewett.

“There’s certainly some good form down there in the WAFL, and we’ve said from the start we’re going to continue to reward form where needed,” McQualter said.

“It’s good for the development of that group to be playing in winning games of football as well, so it’s great to see.”

After a promising period ahead of the bye that could have seen the rebuilding club sitting at six wins if not for a six-point loss to Port Adelaide and a one-point defeat to North Melbourne, the Eagles are now staring down the barrel of a dry July with the Dogs, Brisbane, and Fremantle rounding out the month’s fixtures.

However, McQualter said it was a chance for his group to test themselves.

“It’s a challenge. Even Carlton and Adelaide over the last two weeks are two of the in-form teams in the competition,” he said.

“So we look forward to that and look forward to testing ourselves against the best, and we have the opportunity to do that in the next few weeks, so we’re just trying to build our game and looking to win every one of those games.”