West Coast have declared Bailey Williams match to face Melbourne ruck large Brodie Grundy in Sunday’s conflict at Optus Stadium.
Already with out first-choice ruckman Nic Naitanui for an indefinite interval with an Achilles harm and Callum Jamieson with an ankle drawback, there have been fears Williams would miss with a knee harm.
But Eagles soccer supervisor Gavin Bell has declared Williams a starter towards the Demons.
“Baily trained yesterday and he is right to go. We are expecting Bailey to play,” Bell informed ABC Saturday Sports Talk.
Mid-forward Elijah Hewett has been named within the beginning 22 after beginning the previous two video games as a sub as he builds match health on the elite stage.
Bell stated Hewett’s endurance was a piece in progress, with a unique “profile” to fellow first-year gamers Reuben Ginbey and Noah Long.
“Elijah has a different athletic profile to Reuben and Noah. He is all power and speed inside a tight space and the game requires you to bring that as a midfielder, as well as being able to transition from contest to contest,” Bell stated.
“That is a work in progress from Elijah but we really like the energy and enthusiasm he brings to the game, when he’s been injected in as a sub.
“We saw what he showed in the pre-season. He has got some wonderful attributes like some real power and strength and we are looking forward to starting him tomorrow and see how he goes.”
The Eagles have named Elliot Yeo for his first sport this season whereas Brady Hough, Jai Culley, Luke Edwards, Connor West and Greg Clark additionally come into the workforce, with the Eagles ravaged by harm.
Dom Sheed was a midweek casualty with a sore larynx.
“Dom copped a stray elbow in a warm up tackling drill and everyone who has played footy has copped one in the throat,” Bell stated.
“It is just unfortunate that Dom’s did a little bit more damage than the garden variety hit.
“I have seen him this morning. He is in and around the club, he has a really croaky voice, we have just got to manage him and make sure his return is well planned and he is ready to go. Whether that is next week or the week after I am not 100 per cent sure yet. It’s the first time we’ve seen him since the injury.”
He additionally defended the membership over its dealing with of Naitanui’s harm, after it modified its “week to week” stance to a mid-season return.
“With Nic we were optimistic at the start and we created a plan to get him back in a couple of weeks’ time,” Bell stated.
“As we progressed and we reviewed the plan and we weren’t quite ticking all the boxes, it would slowly drift out a little bit and we needed to keep reviewing the plan and see what’s next.
“I see other clubs at the moment are having similar issues. You think you are on the right track, you think they will be ready in a couple of weeks’ time but then you just don’t quite get to the next stage that you need to.
“A couple of weeks ago we came to the point … the plan is not quite hitting where we need to, so we need to slow this down.
“I am really confident .. we are still aiming for the mid year and having Nic back.
“He is in at the club, he is doing his work and he is going to be a great in for us when the time comes.
“It certainly wasn’t secret squirrels or anything like that from our end. It is just that the plan needed to be adjusted.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
