WEST Coast coach Adam Simpson admits Nic Naitanui is carrying soreness after a long campaign, but expects the star ruckman will be available for Sunday's crunch match against Greater Western Sydney.
Naitanui has come under fire for quiet performances in the Eagles' deflating losses to Essendon and Adelaide, prompting speculation a hefty 13-game workload is catching up with him coming back from a knee reconstruction.
The spring-heeled big man failed to train on Monday or Tuesday, however Simpson is hopeful Naitanui will take his place ahead of a crucial midfield battle with the hard-running Giants.
"He's a little bit sore at the moment, but whether that keeps him out of the side or not, I doubt it," Simpson said.
"He's probably copped a bit of criticism with his performances in the last couple of weeks, but he's been under a little bit of duress.
"It's not to say that's an excuse.
"We'll name him, for sure, it's not as dire as that."
Simpson said Naitanui's soreness wasn't just related to his knee.
"A bit overall. It's his first year back for a couple of years," he said.
"I think there's a lot of players in the competition at the moment, I think the injuries popping up across the comp are due to the fact it's been a pretty gruelling year."
The Eagles have named injury-plagued Nathan Vardy in their extended squad, possibly to play in attack and as insurance for Naitanui.
Both sides are severely depleted up forward, with the Eagles missing Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling, Mark LeCras and Liam Ryan, while the Giants are without Jeremy Cameron, Toby Greene and Jon Patton, who suffered a third ruptured ACL on Thursday.
The Eagles have struggled to score since the bye, averaging just 62 points in three-straight losses and, at 10-4, their top-four spot is on shaky ground, but GWS (8-5-1) has revived its flagging season with four consecutive victories.
West Coast is expected to bring back Dom Sheed after a dominant performance at East Perth to help counter the Giants' star-studded onball division, led by Josh Kelly, Dylan Shiel, Callan Ward and Stephen Coniglio.
"Clearly, one of their major strengths is their contest and stoppages. I think they were plus-1000m gained from clearances last week," Simpson said.
"Halfway through the second quarter they were plus-20 clearances.
"We need to match the midfield battle. Forward and back at both ends is secondary really."
Simpson couldn't guarantee Kennedy (leg), Darling (ankle) and full-back Tom Barrass (back) would be available next round, while Ryan's absence is clouded.
The mercurial small forward is dealing with personal issues which came to light after he crashed his car into a tree around 6am on Monday morning.
Police and the club are still investigating the circumstances around the incident.
"The incident wasn't major, but he breached the players' trademark," Simpson said.
"There's values we live by within the club. Obviously, there's been a breach there.
"We can't just push that under the carpet.
"He's a young man working through some issues, so I think we need to respect that, but also we understand he's done the wrong thing.
"Finding that balance is important for us and looking after him at the same time is where we're at, at the moment."
