On the eve of the West Coast Eagles’ one and only Thursday night game of the 2011 season, senior coach John Worsfold has made some tweaks to his side which was gallantly defeated by Hawthorn in Launceston 12 days ago.

Pacey defender Ashley Smith will make his season debut for West Coast at the expense of key defender Will Schofield, as the Eagles coach looks to add some speed to the team's defensive ranks.

"There are things we are more aware of going into this game, with the way Melbourne move the ball and the way their forward line is going to be structured,” Worsfold said.

“We bring in Ash Smith who is a very quick small defender, who showed in his limited games last year that he could run guys down and certainly keep up with guys, if they want to try and race him back to goal.

“So we certainly take all those things into account.”

Speed down back is not the only issue for the West Coast coach, with match-ups on both Aaron Davey and Liam Jurrah pivotal to overcoming the Demons.

"He [Davey] is one of their key players and he's a beautiful kick, so that’s just one of the many challenges we are going to face in the game,” Worsfold said. 

“Jurrah is another one of our challenges. We've got to back our defenders in to do the job. We've got to back our pressure up the field, to give him limited opportunities.

“His effectiveness in the game will be a result of a number of things. Not just his direct match-up, but how much pressure we can put on Melbourne."

Worsfold also revealed he is looking forward to watching the battle in the ruck on Thursday, as two of the competition’s finest ruckmen in Dean Cox and Mark Jamar go head to head.

“Jamar has rucked well against us. But he hasn't rucked against Coxy at his best for a couple of years either, so that will be a good battle to observe,” Worsfold said.

“I think Nic [Naitanui] has come a long way since his first game on Jamar, so that should be a good battle as well."

The West Coast Eagles will be taking on the Melbourne Demons at Patersons Stadium this Thursday, April 28 at 6.40pm.