West Coast star Jeremy McGovern is excited to see talented draftee Brady Hough debut in blue and gold, and has declared the injury-hit Eagles are optimistic they can still perform strongly against Gold Coast on Sunday.

Hough’s debut has been confirmed after the 31^st pick from last year’s draft impressed over the summer and during pre-season scratch matches, while former Carlton utility Samo Petrevski-Seton’s energy and class have been notable ahead of his likely first game for the Eagles. 

Petrevski-Seton is likely to line-up across half-forward and through midfield, while Hough can play on a wing but has been used as a half-back in the early stages of his career, alongside four-time All-Australian star McGovern.

“I’ve been stoked with him. He’s come in, put his head down and done everything he can for a young footballer and his opportunity has come early, round on, which is great for him and great for his family,” McGovern said of Hough.

“He’s a great young kid and he’s shown plenty. I’m extremely excited about him, especially because he is a backman.

“I love seeing backs come through and doing well, so I’m hoping he gets three Brownlow votes on the weekend.

“(Petrevski-Seton) has had a really good pre-season, and same with Brady Hough, he’s really put his head down and earned respect from the boys.

“He’s played AFL footy before, which is great.

“He brings a lot of energy to the group and I’m really excited to hopefully play with him on the weekend.”

While West Coast is set to be without several key players – including Elliot Yeo, Oscar Allen, Dom Sheed and Jamie Cripps – McGovern said belief was still strong that the team can give a good account of themselves against the in-form Suns.

“We know what we can do and we know what we want to do (is win) – and we’ll be doing that as much as we can this year,” McGovern said.

“It starts with Gold Coast this week; we’re not looking too far into anything else.

“Writing us off for wooden spoons … we haven’t even played a game yet.

“We’re going to focus on Gold Coast this week and we’ll see what happens.

“But belief-wise, there’s still belief there. I feel like our list can still perform.

“Obviously you don’t want any injuries – you’d love to have none – but that’s just part of footy.

“That’s just what we’ve got to deal with.

“I look at the positives of it, there’s a lot of opportunity now for these young boys who have probably – not been starved of it – but it’s been hard for them to break into our side.

“It’s great for our fans to see our young boys coming through, but the sooner we can get all of our list together and back on the track would be great.”

One of the key members of West Coast’s squad who was on track on Monday was star forward Jack Darling, who completed some skills work on Tuesday at Mineral Resources Park and is rebuilding his conditioning.

“It’s great to have him back. We’ve wanted him back for a while and it’s all played out and he’s back now,” McGovern said.

“It would be great to have him back on the field as soon as possible as well. I’ve said it before, we’re a much better side with him playing and we’re a better team with him here.

“I’d like to think pretty soon (he’ll play). He is a generally fit guy. HE started training again today … he looks great.

“That’s up for him and the fitness staff to figure out, but hopefully sooner rather than later.”