SAM MITCHELL is still no certainty to be ticked-off as a starter for his first Western Derby, amid a concerning injury toll for under-pressure West Coast ahead of Saturday night's clash with Fremantle.
Mitchell needs to train strongly on Wednesday night to be any chance of facing the Dockers after he missed Sunday's horror loss to his old club Hawthorn due to a sore ankle.
"We'll give him until the last minute but we'll need to see some improvement tonight," Eagles coach Adam Simpson said.
"Medically he was unfit to play last week, we gave him every chance, but deep down I think we both knew he wasn't going to come up.
"This week's a little bit different."
The Eagles will be forced into at least two changes after pressure forward Jamie Cripps (ankle) and dashing defender Jackson Nelson (wrist) both copped injuries against the Hawks.
Hard-running wingman Andrew Gaff (ankle) and tough defender Brad Sheppard (knee) are expected to take their spots.
Despite having 13 players on the injury list, Simpson was confident in his squad's depth.
Onballer Kurt Mutimer is a chance to debut after strong form at East Perth, while Eric Mackenzie, Mark Hutchings and Lewis Jetta all played in the Royals' first win on Saturday.
Jetta had had 36 and 19 touches at East Perth in the past two weeks but laid just one tackle.
However Simpson, who lashed the Eagles' intent against Hawthorn, wasn't too concerned.
"His form's been reasonable, but we want to get him in (after) a good block of form," he said.
"We've tried to get him in too early on occasions and not really getting him to earn his spot to a degree where we know he can get some consistency.
"I wouldn't judge it all around tackles, although he's got to go when it's his turn."
Fremantle has its own injury worry and is searching for a replacement for star onballer Stephen Hill (hamstring), with youngster Harley Balic (hip) in the mix to return after missing last weekend's thrilling win over North Melbourne.
Dockers coach Ross Lyon insisted Hill's replacement wouldn't be picked on "birth certificate", indicating veteran Danyle Pearce and Nick Suban could also come into contention.
Prolific midfielder Lachie Neale is a certain-starter despite requiring a cortisone injection to treat inflammation on his knee, but the Dockers have dismissed fears he had suffered a medial ligament injury.
"He finished the game in great shape, I got an email 'We think he might have an MCL, grade one', I dropped my coffee," Lyon said.
"There was a slight scare … but it's turned out to be quite simple."
Both sides enter the 45th Derby with 3-2 records this season, although Fremantle has all the momentum after three epic wins.
"It certainly fuels your belief," Lyon said. "They were very spirited, had plenty of endeavour, which is a sign of a great team dynamic, great harmony between coaches and players.
"So we aim to build on that."
The Eagles' pride has been wounded after their disastrous loss to the Hawks and Simpson has challenged his leaders to step up.
Garry Lyon declared West Coast isn't "nasty" or ruthless, while Jonathan Brown savaged the players as "mummy's boys" after another below-par performance at the MCG.
"Mummy's boys? I haven't heard that one," Simpson said.
"The fact is we were really poor on the weekend and our good is really good, so I can understand the criticism.
"I hate to think (our players) need that as motivation."
Saturday's clash will mark giant Freo ruckman Aaron Sandilands' 250th game and is a 'home' match for the Eagles, who hold a 24-20 lead over Fremantle in derbies.
