He’s West Coast’s most prized possession, but don’t expect a high-flying performance from Nic Naitanui in Thursday’s practice match against AFL rivals Fremantle at Patersons Stadium.
Naitanui hasn’t featured for the Eagles since succumbing to a lingering groin injury last July, but the 23-year-old is set to play around 50 minutes against the Dockers.
Although the 201cm ruckman will form a key plank in West Coast’s finals hopes, rookie coach Adam Simpson said there would be no pressure on Naitanui to perform in his first game back.
“The expectation for us is really low,” Simpson said on Wednesday.
“We’re not looking at an exceptional performance from Nic. I’m not super keen to throw him in the deep end first game up.
“It’s been a long time since he’s played, so we’ll be really conservative with our approach.
“If we get out of the game with 50 or so minutes, with no injuries and he just has a good run around, we’ll be really happy.”
With a 36-degree day forecast for Thursday, the match has been moved back 80 minutes to 6pm local time.
“It was a mutual decision. I think it is the right one. No reason to cook ourselves,” Simpson said.
Both sides have named strong squads, with Fremantle set to feature up to 20 players who appeared in last year’s grand final loss to Hawthorn.
Ruckman Zac Clarke is unavailable due to a knee injury, while Hayden Ballantyne was withdrawn from the squad on Wednesday.
Fremantle copped an 84-point hiding from West Coast a fortnight ago, but Simpson isn’t expecting another walk in the park.
The Eagles opted to rest vice-captain Scott Selwood, but Darren Glass, Luke Shuey, Mark LeCras, Josh Kennedy and Eric Mackenzie were recalled to make it a near full strength outfit.
If Naitanui makes it through the game unscathed, he would be on track to appear in the club’s season opener against the Western Bulldogs on March 23.
Simpson says up to six spots in the Eagles’ best 22 are still up for grabs, placing further importance on Thursday’s match.
West Coast will round out their season with an intra-club match next week in a hit-out that will also involve their WAFL-aligned club East Perth.