West Coast coach Adam Simpson is promising a look into the club’s AFL future against Essendon on Tuesday night.
The Eagles will have to experiment with their forward line against the Bombers with Josh Kennedy (concussion) officially ruled out of the Gabba clash.
With fellow premiership-winning forward Jamie Cripps also unavailable having flown home to Perth ahead of the birth of his first child, Simpson admits the Eagles’ will be a different-looking team for the round 15 match.
“It’ll be a bit of a different looking forward line obviously without Willie (Rioli) and (Daniel) Venables and Kennedy and Crippa,” Simpson said.
“We might have to play a few players in different positions this week. We’ll still have a strong side and we’re still confident we can perform at our best.
“… So they’ll be probably a little glimpse of the future, which I think our fans love to see and we like getting some kids in our side.”
Oscar Allen is likely to return after being overlooked for last week’s loss to Richmond while Simpson said Lewis Jetta was also making a case for a recall.
Superstar Nic Naitanui won’t be taking a break either with Simpson confirming the ruckman had pulled up well following the Tigers match.
Simpson is also keeping one eye on the Bombers’ forward line after the game-winning return by Joe Daniher in last week’s come-from-behind victory over Hawthorn.
Daniher finished with 10 marks and three goals from his first match in 467 days against the Hawks, a performance that drew praise from Simpson.
“He’s touched us up before. I think it was Etihad a of couple years ago, he had a really good day, and that was probably the last time we all saw him,” Simpson said.
“It’s great to see him playing, to be honest and to see the really good players of the game perform at their best.
“Good for the competition he’s playing, not great for us.”
The Bombers have also been given a boost with skipper Dyson Heppell and defender Michael Hurley both clear to play after recovering from ankle injuries.