WEST Coast coach Adam Simpson has denied there is any sinister reason Eric Mackenzie and Lewis Jetta have dropped out of the Eagles' side, declaring the duo are legitimately sore. 

Key defender Mackenzie will miss Saturday's home clash with St Kilda after pulling up with sore knees and toes from round one, while Jetta hurt his glute before main training on Wednesday. 

"Those two guys, I know there's been a few people asking, it's legitimate. It's as honest as we can be," Simpson said on Friday. 

However, the Eagles coach admitted both players' spots would have been under pressure after below-par performances in the win over North Melbourne. 

Mackenzie, who was a surprise selection ahead of young gun Tom Barrass, struggled to restrict the Roos' tall forwards in the air, while Jetta only had nine touches and was gifted a goal in the square by Josh Kennedy. 

"I suppose (Mackenzie) and Jetts, their position in the side was worth a discussion, but it was taken out of our hands a little bit," Simpson said. 

"Some players you will give to the last minute of the game to be available and some players don't have that luxury.

"So I suppose with Jetts we took a bit more caution and it's an opportunity to see how someone else goes."

While Mackenzie will be rested this weekend, Jetta could still play for East Perth on Saturday afternoon on managed time after scans came back positively. 

The speedy wingman joined West Coast's light training session on Friday and the call will be made on his WAFL availability on Saturday morning.

Emerging midfielder Dom Sheed and Barrass have come into the Eagles' 22, alongside big man Jonathan Giles, who replaces Drew Petrie (broken hand).

Giles will play just his fifth game in Eagles colours and partner recruit Nathan Vardy in the ruck for the first time. The pair are West Coast's last two fit recognised ruckmen after Petrie joined Nic Naitanui (ACL) and Scott Lycett (shoulder) on the sidelines.

The up-and-coming Saints arrive in Perth under pressure following a round one capitulation against Melbourne and with the spotlight on their travel woes.

Alan Richardson's men haven't won interstate since round nine, 2015 against the Brisbane Lions and were pummeled by West Coast by 103 points at Domain Stadium last year.  

St Kilda will be without champion Nick Riewoldt (knee) and tough onballer David Armitage (groin) for Saturday's clash, but Simpson was wary of the Saints bouncing back.

"We're fully aware of their strengths and pressure they can apply on a game – when they sustain it it's in the top two or three in the comp," he said.

"We're expecting a pretty big response (from them) this week."