WEST Coast will be without star ruckman Nic Naitanui for the rest of this season and most of 2017, but gun forward Josh Kennedy is adamant the Eagles can still win games.
Naitanui was meeting with knee surgeons on Monday to determine the best course of action for a knee reconstruction after scans on Saturday confirmed that he had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during Friday night's win over Hawthorn.
Kennedy said the news of Naitanui's ACL injury was "devastating" but said the players dealt with it on Friday night after the game when they feared for the worst.
"Nic is such a valuable player for our team, but we can win without him," Kennedy said.
"We've just got to make sure we play as a unit. It's not about one player. It's about the other 22 on the field.
"We've got to make sure we come together as a group and play the way we did on Friday night. It will give us the best possible chance of winning this week."
The Eagles' ruck options will be a source of lengthy debate at the match committee meeting this week ahead of Friday night's clash with Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.
They used four combinations during Naitanui's six-week absence earlier in the year.
Kennedy said the players had full faith in Scott Lycett to step up into the number one ruck role again.
Key defender Mitch Brown was used as Lycett's partner in three wins against Essendon, North Melbourne and Carlton.
He competed well but his lack of size and experience was a concern for the Eagles' coaching staff.
Jonathan Giles replaced Brown against Melbourne to try and counter the in-form Max Gawn. Giles was left out against Collingwood the following week with Jeremy McGovern pinch-hitting as Lycett's partner but the Eagles lost their number one asset in defence.
Kennedy said all of those options would be considered.
Giles was rested from East Perth's WAFL match on Saturday following the news of Naitanui's injury on Friday night.
He had a chat with coach Adam Simpson during training on Monday at Domain Stadium while Brown did some work on his set shot goalkicking after spending some time in the ruck for East Perth last weekend.
The Eagles had a full complement on the track on Monday with the exception of Naitanui but it was only a light skills session.
Josh Hill had a scan on Saturday but he was able to run some laps without any obvious hindrance.
Scott Lycett just did some stationary skills work. He copped a knock on the knee on Friday night and a corked thigh the week before against Greater Western Sydney but he will be fine to face Adelaide on Friday night.
Young key defender Tom Barrass could also be in the frame to return after missing last week with some shin soreness.
