Hearing his teammates erupt in excitement at training suggested one thing to Luke Shuey – his and Jamaine Jones’ replacements could already know they will be playing against Adelaide.
But exactly who those players might be remained a mystery to the hamstrung West Coast skipper as he spoke to media on Wednesday.
The Eagles’ match committee has a list of enticing options to consider, including Jarrod Cameron, coming back from a long-term groin issue, possible debutants Nic Reid and Hamish Brayshaw, or young left-footer Brayden Ainsworth after a lengthy absence from the seniors.
With team announcement not until Thursday afternoon, it remains to be seen who will be called up or if other, more established, options have crossed the minds of Adam Simpson and his coaching group.
“The captaincy gives me no more entitlement to know those ones. I can’t actually give you any info on that, I didn’t train with the boys,” Shuey told reporters from RACV Royal Pines Resort Gold Coast.
“There was an eruption just before match sim started, so I think Simmo did announce who is playing but I can’t tell you who that is sorry.
“It’s nothing to keep me from playing. There are blokes everywhere that are sore in the competition.”
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) July 8, 2020
Shuey on bandaging seen on broadcast pic.twitter.com/Om8IA3Wdgz
“There’s a few options. Whether we bring in a midfielder or a couple of smaller forwards. Cammo’s been pushing his case for a while now and played a few games last year.
“Nic Reid was thrown up through the week and that would be a great story and then there’s Hamish Brayshaw and Brayden Ainsworth, a couple of onballers who are in the mix as well.
“Looking forward to finding out who it was, because any of those guys would be exciting to see run out.”
Cameron, with seven games and 11 goals under his belt, is the most experienced of the above-mentioned quartet, and has worked his way back from a lengthy rehabilitation to be in the mix.
The exciting forward could be joined in the line-up by Nic Reid - the former North Beach amateur who earned his spot on the list via the West Coast WAFL team last year – if the Eagles reshuffle the line-up to include a couple of zippy smalls.
“He’s a really good story, Reidy,” Shuey said.
“Plenty of energy up forward. He kicked a few goals for our WAFL team last year (23 in 15 games) … so he’s got a sense of where the goals are which is nice, bit of speed, bit of excitement, bit of flair. Be nice to see him get his chance.”
Brayshaw has left no stone unturned in search of his debut, while Ainsworth showed he could find the footy in three games during the 2018 premiership campaign, averaging nearly 14 disposals.
Shuey praised the fringe Eagles who haven’t been selected during the club’s Queensland stint for their enthusiasm, albeit without the carrot of playing more than scrimmages each weekend.
“It’s a great effort and it’s a testament to their mental ability to stay focused on what they need to do to improve and stay in the mix,” he said.
“Not having proper games to push your case for selection I imagine could be mentally draining. All our guys who haven’t been playing seniors and having to play little scratch matches on Friday or Saturday their attitudes have been faultless.
“We’ve loved the way they’ve gone about it and really proud of every one of their efforts and it would be nice to see a few guys get rewarded this week.”
While the skipper is disappointed to miss the Crows clash, he is already back running and will be pushing for the Western Derby on July 19, after a week back at home letting his bruised body recover and enjoying some family time.
“I think everyone is looking forward to seeing their families and that’s competition-wide,” Shuey said.
“To go back to Perth 3-3 would be a nice position so we need to get over Adelaide before we start worrying about next week.
“Flicked a few things around on the weekend (against Sydney) and it really worked for us, we played a brand that was more like us over the last few years than what the last three or four weeks have been.”