Josh Kennedy and Luke Shuey are among a raft of stars set to return for West Coast’s elimination final against Collingwood next week, but gun midfielder Elliot Yeo faces a battle to play again this year.
Kennedy injured his ankle in last week’s win over North Melbourne, while Shuey has not played since straining both of his hamstrings in the round 15 win against Essendon.
That duo, along with Jack Redden (thumb), Lewis Jetta (calf), Mark Hutchings (hamstring), and Jamie Cripps (personal reasons) are all set to be available for the start of the finals.
Defender Jeremy McGovern is also pushing his case for an early return from a hamstring injury.
Yeo, who has not played since round 11 due to osteitis pubis, has already been ruled out of the clash with Collingwood at Optus Stadium.
And even if the Eagles progress deep into the finals, it appears increasingly unlikely Yeo will be able to return.
He has resumed straight-line running in recent weeks, but coach Adam Simpson says the 26-year-old has struggled to make significant progress.
The club could make an announcement as early as Tuesday about whether they plan to persevere with Yeo’s current program or concede he will not return this year.
Kennedy has made good progress from his ankle injury, but revealed thoughts of the worst crossed his mind when he first suffered the injury.
“It was kind of running through my head that it could have been my last game,” Kennedy told Perth radio station 6PR.
“So a fair few emotions were going through my head and maybe a bit of an over-reaction on my behalf. You do think the worst.
“I’m just trying to get the swelling out at the moment, which I’ve done a pretty good job of over the weekend.
“I’ll do a bit more today and run tomorrow, so it’s all looking pretty positive. It’s all stable and everything, which has been good.”
The 33-year-old says he has yet to make a decision about whether to play on next season, but on current form he would be a good chance to earn another one-year deal.
West Coast’s fifth-placed finish means they have missed out on the double chance.
But Kennedy is still confident the club can launch a major premiership assault.
“It’s possible to win it from anywhere, you’ve just got to be in the finals race. Teams have done it before,” he said.
Meanwhile, the allowed capacity for next week’s clash at Optus Stadium has been lifted from 30,000 to 35,500 people.
The increase was due to the WA Government allowing the 50 per cent capacity limit to be replaced by a one-person-per-two-square-metre rule.
