West Coast will give star midfielder Elliot Yeo until gameday to decide whether to take his place against Hawthorn following the loss of his father this week.
Yeo has been named alongside returning duo Tim Kelly (hip/knee) and Harley Reid (suspension) in the onball division for Sunday’s 2.40pm bouncedown at Optus Stadium.
“He’s got the flexibility, Elliot, this week. We’re really trying to respect the situation he’s going through, which is tragic,” coach Adam Simpson said on Friday.
“He popped into the club yesterday in the morning, he’s here today, we’ll see how he goes through the captain’s run and we’ll give him up to the last minute before the game.
“Preparing to play but if he feels like he’s not up for it, then he won’t so it’s totally up to Elliot with how he’s feeling and what he has to deal with with his family, so we’re very respectful with that situation.”
The Eagles have confirmed Jack Petruccelle is out of the team which pushed top-four contender Essendon, following a minor hamstring sustained before Thursday’s main training session.
“I think it’s a minor one, but he did it in the warm-up,” Simpson said.
“He pulled up a bit sore from the game, but not too bad. He was ready to full train but just a little niggle so he’ll miss a couple of weeks.”
Kelly and Reid’s returns are major boosts for the Eagles, who could field one of their strongest line-ups on paper in recent years.
Simpson cautioned against expecting the team to gel perfectly against Hawthorn, given ruck recruit Matt Flynn, co-captain Oscar Allen, damaging forward Liam Ryan, Yeo, Reid and Kelly have missed matches this year.
“The synergy piece is something I spoke about earlier in the year and it feels like we’re going backwards to that a little bit. There’s guys who haven’t played together before,” Simpson said.
“This week look strong on paper and we’re expecting a good performance, but I think we’ll get a better output in the coming weeks as well.”
Reid was tagged during his last game against St Kilda and Simpson believed the 19-year-old tyro would be better prepared if Hawthorn attempt a similar tactic.
“Harley has got to get ready for that, whether it’s this week, next week or whenever,” Simpson said.
“Quite often when you’ve got support around you it’s a bit easier; hopefully 'Yeoy' and 'TK' can provide that, but they’re (Hawthorn) a pretty dangerous midfield themselves.
“They’re No.1 in a lot of stats around stoppages, so I think they’ll back in their system. if they give him attention it’s something he can learn from, like last time he played.
“With his flexibility about going forward as well we can explore that. He’s a 19-year-old kid just working his way through it.
“It will happen again, no doubt, especially if he catches fire like he does sometimes.”
