WEST Coast spearhead Josh Kennedy is backing teammate Jack Darling to continue his emergence as a "beast" of the competition in 2020 while tempering his own expectations after a full pre-season. 

Kennedy has enjoyed a much-hyped summer, starting on day one for the first time since the 2017 pre-season, but the 32-year-old said he was "just getting through" and "definitely not flying". 

The two-time Coleman medallist and six-time West Coast leading goalkicker said his expectations for 2020 were to be a consistent key forward, with Darling the Eagle who is primed for another big year.

"He's starting to turn into a bit of a beast of the competition in terms of his marking power and his ability to kick some goals now, which is great to see," Kennedy said on Monday.

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"The way he goes about his business in terms of leading and taking over and controlling the forward line is something that's put us in really good stead and will do for many, many years.  

"If Jack gets his body right and gets fit like he always does, he'll have another good year.

"We've played a lot of footy together now and seeing where he is at in his career and what he's been able to do … has been quite special."

Darling is recovering from a fractured cheekbone suffered at training and is set to miss the Eagles' Marsh Community Series opener against Essendon on February 27.

The 2019 All Australian trained with the main group on Monday, presenting a lead-up target for the midfielders during stoppage drills and working on his goalkicking.

"He can still have a run and do everything like that, it's probably just the contact that he's not able to do," Kennedy said, with the Eagles hopeful Darling will play in the pre-season clash against Fremantle on March 7.   

"He's been back running and having a kick, so all the fitness stuff will be fine, it will just be getting him back into the competitive stuff."

While Darling completed the majority of Monday's session outdoors, fellow All Australian Jeremy McGovern, who is recovering from heel surgery, retired indoors after completing the warm-up with the main group. 

Versatile tall Oscar Allen (hernia) continued to progress, joining the main group, while ruckman Tom Hickey (calf) did stoppage work with midfielders including Tim Kelly and Andrew Gaff. 

It was a light session for Elliot Yeo, who completed handball drills and stretching on the sidelines, while captain Luke Shuey was a notable absentee.

Former Geelong small forward Jamaine Jones continued his push to win a rookie spot on the Eagles' list, running laps with former teammate Kelly in the warm-up and then joining the forwards. 

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Kelly, whose summer has been uninterrupted, stood out in stoppage work, with Kennedy impressed with the star midfielder's leadership since joining the club.

"He can find the footy, we've noticed that at training a fair bit … but seeing him help the younger kids in our team has been something that's been quite special, it's an added bonus," Kennedy said.