GOLD Coast defender Charlie Ballard will be sent for scans after suffering a knee injury in Sunday's big win against West Coast.

Ballard landed awkwardly late in the second quarter and crumpled to ground when his left knee appeared to buckle, with the important tall defender substituted out of the game at half time.

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Hardwick chose his words carefully post-match and said the Suns were hoping for good news after an 87-point win that was the largest in the club's 14-year history.

"He’ll go for a scan first thing tomorrow I would say" Hardwick said on Sunday night.

"I'd just rather wait and we'll get the scan results, because we need him.

"He’s such an important player for us, important both on the field and off the field. Great locker room guy, glue guy as well. So we've got our fingers crossed that everything's okay."

After going 2-9 on the road last year, Hardwick was pleased with his team's ability to travel and put in a dominant performance, controlling contested ball (145-102) and clearances (50-33) to set up a landslide win.

New captain Noah Anderson (36 disposals and nine clearances), Matt Rowell (30 and 10) and Touk Miller (26 and 10) were all outstanding, with Hardwick joking that Rowell's price was rising further.

"We obviously know the type of player Matt Rowell is. His market value has probably gone up again, which is a bit flattening," he said.

"I thought Jarrod Witts was probably best on ground, to be honest.

"I thought he was a superstar today, one of the best games I think I've seen a ruck play.

"So he was really, really strong, gave us first use, hunted the ball in around the contest. And, you know, it was a great result for us."

Hardwick defended new West Coast coach Andrew McQualter after a difficult start in the role, saying his former Tigers assistant would improve his group quickly. 

"What West Coast have got to understand, they've got an absolute cracker," Hardwick said.

"The players will get great growth and learnings. He's that sort of guy. They'll get a really good understanding and they'll get a hell of a lot better next week as well.

"He's a wonderful coach. He'll be fine and they'll be fine."

McQualter said the loss was "incredibly deflating" and the Eagles had expected better, with their issues on Sunday stemming from an inability to be compete at the contest.

With their midfield dominated at stoppages and their backline forced to defend a massive inside 50 differential (67-34), McQualter said the Eagles struggled to get the game on their terms at any stage.

"I would say they were incredibly sharp, and we were at the other end of the level. So that's why you get the numbers you get," he said.

"When you go minus-40 in the contest, you're just not going to be able to compete, so that for us today started at clearance.

"Today was a really difficult day. We didn't get many of our phases right."

McQualter said key forward Jake Waterman was removed from the game as a "precaution" after battling a minor calf issue during the week.

Co-captain Liam Duggan and midfielder Jack Hutchinson are also under injury clouds ahead of a testing trip to the Gabba to take on Brisbane next Sunday, with Duggan aggravating an ankle late in the game.