Adam Simpson is weighing his secondary ruck options to support explosive superstar Nic Naitanui, with the West Coast coach likely to tinker with the role during warm-up games.

Last year, Oscar Allen capably battled above his weight division in the ruck whenever Naitanui needed a spell during his career-best campaign.

But with quarters returning to 20 minutes plus time-on and Naitanui’s game time unlikely to significantly change, that might be too big a load for Allen to shoulder this season.

It leaves Simpson with some thinking to do ahead of round one, with one option being a return to a two-ruck policy that served the club so well during the 2018 flag-winning campaign.

Importantly, premiership big man Nathan Vardy has enjoyed an excellent and injury-free summer to date after an interrupted 2020.

Meanwhile, athletic forward-ruck Bailey Williams is also pushing hard to add to his three appearances from last year and youngster Callum Jamieson continues to develop his body and craft.

“The game last year was different because it went for 100 minutes and … Nic’s game time didn’t change, it just meant he played more of it in terms of the percentage because it was a shorter game,” Simpson told 6PR.

“That allowed Oscar to play second ruck. I don’t know if that’s going to happen this year with the game going out an extra 25 minutes probably, so we’re just trying to work out how we get that second ruck option going.

“That’s something Oscar is working around, Bailey Williams is coming along pretty well, Nathan Vardy has had a really good pre-season.”

Oscar Allen

While Allen’s flexibility remains invaluable, the 38-gamer’s future looks to be primarily as a marking target in attack.

The 21-year-old has shown plenty of potential, averaging a goal per game, and he continues to learn from All Australian stars Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling.

Balancing that tall but nimble trio in the same side with a secondary ruck to support Naitanui will be a talking point for Simpson and his coaching staff to debate leading into round one against Gold Coast.

“’Can we play those three talls and a ruck?’ is the question we’ve got to answer,” Simpson said.

“We think there’s a spot there for him (Allen), we’ve just got to find a way to get the chemistry right in our forward line.”

Simpson also flagged the possibility Liam Duggan would be trialled in an expanded midfield role during pre-season games, which will consist of a scrimmage against Fremantle and AAMI Community Series clash with Port Adelaide.

Liam Duggan

The 24-year-old was drafted as an onballer back in 2014 before settling in defence, but his elite decision-making and ball use was an asset when he moved into an injury-hit engine room late last season.

“Liam Duggan has been training a little bit more in the midfield, just through circumstance,” Simpson said.

“We had a couple of guys out with niggles so we threw him in there and, touch wood, he has really impressed us.

“We’ll see where that takes us. Definitely give him a go in pre-season and if he ends up there or not that’s to be decided but he’s definitely in that age bracket now where he can probably play multiple positions.”