Senior coach Adam Simpson hopes West Coast’s engine room will be bolstered by skipper Luke Shuey’s return for Saturday night’s blockbuster clash with League-leading Port Adelaide.
Shuey tweaked a hamstring before round one but the dynamic onballer has progressed well since and is in the frame to take on the Power at Optus Stadium.
“I hope so. We’ve missed Luke. We’ve missed Elliot (Yeo) as well,” Simpson told Channel Seven.
“Every team goes through injuries but getting our captain back will be great if we can.
“It’s tracking well. He trained fully on the weekend and we’re hoping he’ll be available.”
The Eagles felt the absence of Shuey and big-bodied star Yeo (groin) in Sunday’s gut-wrenching defeat to the Bulldogs, with brilliant playmaker Marcus Bontempelli (30 disposals, three goals) leading the opposition's midfield charge.
“We threw everything at him, we just couldn’t stop him, particularly in the big moments of the game when it was there to be won he stood up,” Simpson said.
“Unfortunately that’s twice in a row now. He did it last year in Queensland as well, he kicked the last goal of the game to put them in front. We’ve got some work to do with that.”
West Coast hung in the contest after the wayward Dogs dominated the second quarter and led by 14 points in the final term following a reversal in momentum.
Ultimately, the Eagles fell short in a thriller, but Simpson remained proud of his troops for a gritty effort.
“Really proud of our resilience. I thought we were below-par for our first half performance,” he said.
“I thought we were a bit off with our contest and intensity was down, but we lifted.
“We hung in there, our backs did a pretty good job to save the day on occasions and then halfway through the third we really turned the screws and played our way.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t close it out, it was one of those games that ebbed and flowed and unfortunately the siren went at the wrong time.”
Simpson expected young forward Oscar Allen would be available to face the Power following shoulder and knee soreness in the aftermath of the Dogs clash.
Yeo is still making progress in his battle with osteitis pubis, albeit not as quickly as the coach would like.
“We’re not talking about surgery, it’s more about return to train,” Simpson said.
“His fitness base is building now. I’ve said this a few times, two steps forward, one step back has been the case, that means he’s slowly getting forward.
“Just not as quick as I would like so hoping the next few weeks he starts training with us.”
