West Coast has options to combat Carlton twin towers Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow but will need to sharpen up on team defence to blunt the Blues’ star forwards, coach Adam Simpson says.
The Eagles are set to host the Blues in an intriguing clash, with West Coast’s form improving since the bye – aided by better availability – and Carlton heading west in search of victory to stay in touch with the top four.
The contest between the big men at either end will be pivotal, with Eagles veteran Josh Kennedy returning from knee soreness to partner invigorated sidekick Jack Darling in attack, while Carlton is set to regain star defender Jacob Weitering.
In defence, West Coast will be without All-Australian pair Jeremy McGovern (ribs) and Elliot Yeo (hamstring).
But emerging talls Rhett Bazzo and possibly Harry Edwards are in the frame to support Tom Barrass against athletic big Curnow (45 goals this season) and 204cm brute McKay (31).
“There’s options. Without McGovern, even ‘Yeoy’ would’ve been an interesting match-up … obviously they’re (Carlton) not all around those two players, but they’re bloody good, even with your best complement it’s hard to get that right,” Simpson said.
“Looking at what other teams have done collectively, not just the one-on-one match-ups, is something we’ve got to look at. There will be some big jobs for some of our players.
“He’s learning so much, ‘Baz’. We’d love to continue to play him and (Brady) Hough and some of these younger players that have bobbed up and given us a bit of spark.
“He (Bazzo) might get the job at some stage.”
While Yeo was flat to suffer yet another injury – following recent groin, calf, illness and concussion battles – the silver lining to his hamstring setback against Richmond was that he should return by the end of July.
“It’s been frustrating for all of us, and for Elliot in particular. It’s not the same injury. It’s osteitis, it’s a calf, it’s a hamstring, so I think we all saw a glimpse of what ‘Yeoy’ was like as a half-back and he brought so much energy to the game,” Simpson said.
“We’re going to miss him again, but he’s still got plenty of footy left in him.”
Kennedy is set to make it back for his 12th game this season and 290th of his career, needing only two majors against his former club to reach the 700 goal milestone for West Coast.
“He needed a week off and that might not be the last time. He’s got a few games left in him, but not many,” Simpson said.
“He trained really well on Tuesday and he should be fine by the weekend.
“His body is probably not the same as it was when he was 28 or 27, but he’s smarter. That’s why he’s been such a good player for so long.”
The Eagles were upbeat during Thursday’s main training session after better performances since the bye against Geelong, Essendon and Richmond, but are under no illusions about the difficult task ahead on Sunday at Optus Stadium.
“They’ve been really good. They’re a really solid, consistent side,” Simpson said of Carlton.
“They look reliable how they go about the contest, stoppages are a great strength, two powerful forwards and some real good smalls who put pressure on and their backline has held up really well without some of their names.
“Across the board they’re a really strong side, and even though they went down last week (to St Kilda) their scoring shots and the way they played they weren’t too far off.
“They’re coming over, I’m sure, with a lot of confidence and we’re building. We asked for some small wins from our players and I think we’ve got that.
“We got success against the Bombers. I thought we played pretty well last week but we still lost by 35 points and conceded 123 points, so we’ve still got some areas to work on.
“We think our stoppage work is getting better, our offence is looking sharper, but our team defence is something we’ve really got to focus on – especially against this mob.”
