It was Benjamin Franklin who uttered that ‘from adversity comes opportunity.’ There’s no chance he had Australian football or the 2023 version of the West Coast Eagles in mind when those words passed his lips.

But given the fallout from last Sunday’s RAC Derby the maxim certainly applies.

After going into the match against Fremantle unchanged from the victory in round two against the Giants, the Eagles have made seven changes for this Easter Sunday clash against Melbourne.

The Eagles were down on numbers as the injury carnage spread in the clash against their cross-town rivals and today, in preparation for the next match against the Dees, seven players who took the field five days ago will not play.

Midfielder Dom Sheed was the latest casualty after an errant elbow struck him in the throat at main training today. He has a fractured larynx and went to hospital to undergo observation. He could not be considered for selection.

He joins those who had previously been ruled out – captain Luke Shuey, vice-captain Jeremy McGovern and forward Liam Ryan (hamstring injuries), defender Alex Witherden (concussion protocols), young wingman Campbell Chesser (knee) and experienced forward Jamie Cripps (broken ankle).

The return of dynamic midfielder Elliot Yeo, a dual Club Champion, will add a tier of experience while the absence of the injured players has also paved the way for the return of last year’s best young player Brady Hough, hardworking wingman Greg Clark and energetic midfielder Connor West. They have all been named in the starting 18.

Others in the mix after being named on the extended interchange bench are young midfielders Luke Edwards, Xavier O’Neill and Jai Culley, forward Jack Petruccelle and defenders Josh Rotham and Luke Foley.

Also named on the bench are utility player Samo Petrevski-Seton and rookie Elijah Hewett.

A decision on the final composition of the team will be made tomorrow.

While there is an inordinate number of changes, the match committee at least has players with a solid form base behind them having played in the WAFL in recent weeks. And the WAFL Eagles have won all three practice matches leading into the opening round on Saturday.

Last week against Subiaco they fielded 14 AFL listed players in the line-up.

In the absence of Shuey and McGovern the team will be led for the first time by key defender Tom Barrass.