Harley Reid’s untimely suspension has opened the door for a pair of promising midfielders in Jai Culley and Clay Hall to break into the West Coast side.
Reid will miss the next two games due to his ban for a sling tackle on St Kilda midfielder Darcy Wilson, which was upheld at the tribunal on Tuesday.
It leaves a big hole in the Eagles’ midfield, with Reid having exploded on the scene in his first 11 games, averaging 18 disposals and five clearances.
Eagles veterans Dom Sheed and Andrew Gaff are set to hold their spots after impressive performances, collecting 20 and 21 disposals respectively in the midfield against the Saints.
But with reigning club champion Tim Kelly ruled out with a hip injury, there’s a spot in the Eagles’ engine room to take on North Melbourne at Optus Stadium on Saturday.
Culley, 21, is looking to return to the side for the first time since rupturing his ACL in round eight of last season, having weeks earlier kicked four goals to earn a rising star nomination.
The No.1 mid-season draftee starred for the Eagles in his best game of WAFL footy since recovering from the ACL injury, collecting 30 disposals, 12 inside 50s, seven tackles and a goal in a thrilling win over Perth.
Culley is no guarantee to come in for Reid though, with draftee Clay Hall pushing to make his debut with a string of solid performances.
Hall travelled to Adelaide last month as an emergency, before returning for the Eagles WAFL side with 30 disposals and nine clearances in the win over the Demons.
Taken with pick No.38 in last year’s draft, Hall had a strong draft year where he was named in the under-18 championships All-Australian side and also played nine league games for Peel Thunder.
Despite bordering on AFL selection, Hall said he was not getting too far ahead of himself.
“I’m starting to feel pretty good. I had a few little setbacks and a couple of little injuries, but I’m starting to feel good and the body is feeling good,” Hall said.
“It (heading to Adelaide) gave me a fair bit of confidence. It was sort of just for a bit of experience, I don’t want to bang too much on about it that I travelled.
“It was a good experience, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. I want to keep ticking off the boxes that I can at the moment.”
The Eagles are also set to regain leading goalkicker Jake Waterman who missed the loss to the Saints with a shoulder injury.
Jack Williams, who was a late inclusion for Waterman and was subbed out during the game, is under pressure to hold his spot.