West Coast defender Eric Mackenzie believes the mauling he received at the hands of Richmond's Jack Riewoldt in round 12 has made him a better AFL player.

Riewoldt booted four goals on Mackenzie in the space of 12 minutes on June 13 before the 22-year-old Eagle was relieved of his duties in favour of Will Schofield.

Mackenzie is adamant his confidence wasn't shattered by that experience and has vowed to turn the tables on Riewoldt, who went on to kick 10 goals, when the teams meet again next season.

"I reckon it has (made me a better player)," said Mackenzie, who has played 37 games since being drafted with pick No.29 in the 2006 national draft.

"Next time I play on him I know what to do differently.

"I wanted to stay on him (during that match).

"He can't keep kicking four goals every 12 minutes. If he kept doing that it would be a record.

"I wanted to stay on him but Woosh (coach John Worsfold) made the change.

"I got back on him later which was good. He didn't kick any more on me so I was pretty happy with that."

West Coast's coaching staff kept their faith in Mackenzie after the Riewoldt beating, giving him the task of manning Bulldogs spearhead Barry Hall the following week.

The move proved successful as Mackenzie restricted Hall to just three goals, two of which were kicked in the final quarter when the result wasn't in doubt.

"I had the backing of both Woosh and Metro (defence coach Daniel Metropolis)," Mackenzie said.

"They backed me in against Barry Hall the next week, so I relished that challenge and the backing I had from them helped me out a lot.

"He (Worsfold) will back us to the end of the world. It's good having that backing, it gives you confidence."

Mackenzie, who is free to play against Carlton at Subiaco Oval on Saturday night after accepting a reprimand for tunnelling Essendon's Jay Neagle, expects the Blues to recall key forward Setanta O'hAilpin.

And with Carlton having lost four of their past five matches, Mackenzie said the Eagles sniffed the chance to back up their 32-point win over Essendon with another victory.

"They're gettable over here I reckon. It would be good to have two in a row," he said.

Meanwhile, upgraded rookie Ashton Hams says he's still adjusting to the role of a small forward after making a name for himself as a defender at WAFL side South Fremantle.

The 23-year-old, selected with pick No.40 in this year's rookie draft, strung six games together for the Eagles between rounds 4-9 before being dropped back to the rookie list.

But the 175cm speedster has come back with a bang in the past two weeks, with his three goals from 18 possessions against the Bombers proving he can cut it at the elite level, even in an unfamiliar role.

"I've played most of the last three years with Souths down back," Hams said.

"I've got to keep up my forward line pressure and (improve) my opposite foot. I'm a left-footer so don't have much of a right."

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