The Eagles posted just 11 wins from 91 games from 2022-2025 in what was by far the worst four-year stretch in the club's history.
Last year, West Coast posted just the solitary win - their lowest return on record.
But it's been a different case in 2026, with Sunday's 30-point win over Essendon improving West Coast's record to 4-8 with 11 games still to play.
West Coast have used their lowly finishes to snare some of the best young talent in the country over the past four years.
Harley Reid and Reuben Ginbey are already bona fide stars, while big things are expected of No.1 draft pick Willem Duursma, Cooper Duff-Tytler, Josh Lindsay, Bo Allan, Jobe Shanahan and Archer Reid to name a few.
And in an added bonus, two-time Brisbane Lions premiership defender Brandon Starcevich will further bolster West Coast's line-up when he makes his Eagles debut in Saturday night's home clash with Port Adelaide.
With the pieces of the puzzle coming together, Duggan is confident the dark days of the early rebuild years are now over.
"I definitely feel like the group now is in a much better position," Duggan said.
"I did feel like that at times last year too. The results weren't going our way, but I felt like we built last year quite nicely.
"We just had to get used to Mini (coach Andrew McQualter) and get used to playing with each other. It was a lot of learning, a lot of new stuff.
"We do have a talented list with a lot of high draft picks now, but they're hard workers, they're eager to learn and they're driving us at the moment."
To have four wins before the bye is a huge achievement for the Eagles.
But given there are still two more games to go until the break - winnable matches against Port Adelaide and North Melbourne in Perth - Duggan won't be satisfied going to the bye with four wins.
"Four wins is a great feeling. It sort of sets us up to attack the back end of the year," Duggan said.
"But we've still got two games to go before our bye, so we're not done yet.
"It does feel good to win. It's nice that we're building a little bit of form."
West Coast overcame a 29-point deficit to beat the Power by two points in Adelaide earlier this year.
Port (3-8) are below the Eagles on the ladder, and must win to stay in the hunt for a Wildcard play-off berth.
