West Coast’s small forwards shone but it wasn’t Josh Hill who starred as the Eagles defeated Essendon by 21 points in Sunday’s NAB Cup clash at Patersons Stadium.

All the talk leading into the match was about the prospect of former Bulldogs forward Josh Hill filling the void left by Mark LeCras.

But it was fellow mid-sized forward Gerrick Weedon and 174cm speedster Ashton Hams who stole the show, combining for four goals to help lift the Eagles to the 0.9.3 (57) to 0.5.6 (36) victory.

Hill, playing through the midfield and up forward, was serviceable and kicked a late goal to push his case for a permanent spot in the Eagles’ 22.

The Bombers, minus the likes of Jobe Watson, Brent Prismall and Dustin Fletcher, were made to pay dearly for their error-prone display, with a youthful Eagles outfit capitalising on the glut of turnovers.

Weedon’s chase down of Anthony Long set the tone for the match, with the 20-year-old booting two goals in the opening 10 minutes as West Coast raced out to a 24-1 lead.

In a rare bright point for Essendon, defender Courtenay Dempsey tallied seven possessions and moved freely in his first match back since suffering a serious knee injury in round four last year.