West Coast is giving key defender Jeremy McGovern until the last minute to prove his fitness for Saturday's clash with the Gold Coast at Domain Stadium.
The young gun has become a crucial player for the Eagles this season after injuries hit them during the pre-season – and looms important again as they look to capitalise on their impressive win over Port Adelaide last weekend.
McGovern suffered a corked calf in the win against the Power and while coach Adam Simpson is confident that he'll play, he fell short of declaring him a certain starter.
"We'll give him until tomorrow [Saturday]. He trained today, so it's more about how he pulls up. It's just a corkie, but six-day break, we need every minute," Simpson said.
"He's been playing sore for a while. But we're not batting deep at the moment in tall defenders, so he is really filling a void for us.
"We need him to get up."
Josh Kennedy looks certain to play despite adding a dislocated finger last week to his already injured shoulder (different sides of his body).
And while Matt Rosa's return from a hamstring injury suffered a slight setback this week, the Eagles were buoyed by news that Xavier Ellis will play in the WAFL this weekend and Mark Hutchings is returning to AFL level after a lengthy stint on the sidelines with a groin injury.
Hutchings played 16 games last season, taking his career tally to 25 games in two seasons. He impressed in three WAFL games with East Perth this season, picking up 26 possessions last week.
"It's been a long process," Simpson said of Hutchings return to the top level.
"He played in the midfield last week and had 11 clearances and played pretty consistent footy the last three weeks, so he has deserved his position.
"He's pretty flexible Hutch. He can play on ball, forward or run with if we have to, so that's part of the reason why he comes into the side, he has flexibility.
"We have been in reasonable form with our mids, so hopefully he helps with that depth."
When GWS visited Perth a few weeks ago, Simpson declared that he through the Giants were building to be a good side and club – he just hoped that it wasn't going to be in round five against his side. West Coast won by 87 points.
Simpson has similar thoughts about the Suns.
"I can't speak for Rocket [Rodney Eade], but I'm sure you know more about your players in the first seven weeks than you do for the whole pre-season," he said.
"So I know they've gone through some issues but they seem to be building a strong culture. I know he's a strong coach and strong individual and I think on-field although they haven't seen the wins they perhaps would like, some of the stats that we look at they're quite high in and they've got some exceptional talent as well.
"So I said this about the GWS side a few weeks ago; they're going to be a very good side, we just hope it's not this week."
