There was no disguising Elliot Yeo’s mood this week – or the reason for the effervescence and spring in his step. Just an assumption, but it’s doubtful he will have a successful poker career post football.

He was trying to quell his enthusiasm, but that’s not in his DNA.

It has been a long time, about 10 months in fact, since the bullocking midfielder was so vibrant around the club. The swagger was back, so was the cheeky grin and the odd little drive by sledge for players and staff.

He was not discerning about his targets. It didn’t matter, it wasn’t personal anyway.

That’s just part of his persona and he deserved to be up and about after such a long stretch on the sidelines. It has been an arduous, tormented and bumpy road to this point. Like travelling the Gibb River Road in one of those box-like smart cars.

He felt every corrugation of the trip; those hiccups on the path to recovery jolting both body and mind.

So having endured so much in the last 12 months, getting the green light to play this weekend – albeit on limited game time with the WAFL Eagles – was a significant break-through.

Finally, the starting line for his 139^th game for the Eagles can be distinguished through the misty haze on the horizon.

The fog is starting to lift like smoke that enveloped this city a month ago.

Yeo last played in the round 11 game against Carlton at Optus Stadium last year and will take the most significant step towards a return to AFL action when he plays against East Perth on Saturday.

He has never played at WAFL senior level before, but given the length of his rehabilitation it is a necessity. He will play as much as the sports science staff allow, and will then recover. On Sunday, he will be battered and sore, but he will rarely have felt more satisfying pain.

The two-time Club Champion and all-Australian has assimilated into full training over recent weeks but there is no substitute for match play against an opponent with one objective in mind - winning. Yeo would have it no other way.

The combative nature of the sport is what drives him.

The thing about Elliot is that what you see is what you get. On-field he is a driven, single-minded individual who wants to impose his will on the game to achieve the team outcome.

And that trait exudes through the character of another man who will enjoy a significant moment on the weekend.

In football clubs – as in life – people march to different beats.

Shannon Hurn, is a more understated, calculated individual. Revered throughout the club because little changes with circumstances, just like the calm he projects on the field.

Make no mistake, he is no less driven than Yeo, he is just wired differently. Less demonstrative, but still passionate, determined and meticulous. 

It is with a little trepidation, having twice tempted the footy gods and twice been metaphorically shirt-fronted, that the subject of Hurn’s record-breaking match against GWS is even mentioned.

All things being equal he will finally hold the record as the player to have played the most games in West Coast Eagles history.

He shares the mantle with the great Dean Cox at this moment with 290 games, but will create a new record every time he slips that No.25 guernsey over his head and onto those substantial shoulders henceforth.

It was with a wry smile and a 'oh well' shrug that he greeted the news on two occasions that a pesky calf injury would delay his milestone. There were no histrionics; as unflappable and measured as he was in the 2018 Grand Final when Collingwood kicked out to a near five-goal lead in the first quarter.

Just as you can’t work your way back into a big game when the focus shifts away from the task, neither can one get ready for the next game by feeling sorry for oneself.

It was as it has always been for 'Bunga'. Prepare well, give yourself the best chance to be ready and when the opportunity presents, play your role and execute to the best of your ability. It’s uncomplicated and pure. Play footy.

Within, he will be happy there will be little fanfare when he creeps to 291. He’s not big on the adulation that goes with AFL football.

He rarely gets overtly excited – other than Grand Final day 2018, after the job had been completed, and he ticked the third box on the white board in the coaches briefing room.

Family and friends had been checked and finally there was that last gratifying swish of the whiteboard marker.