SCOTT Selwood could make a surprise comeback in West Coast’s cut-throat game against Gold Coast on Sunday, teammate Eric Mackenzie says.
Selwood has not played since round 12 following ankle surgery and it seemed unlikely he would feature again this season.
The 2012 best and fairest been doing everything possible to get back on the park and Mackenzie believes he’ll prove his fitness before the clash with the Suns.
If Hawthorn beats Collingwood on Friday night and the Sydney Swans defeat Richmond on Saturday, then a win on Sunday will see West Coast jump into the top eight.
"I think he will [play], yeah," Mackenzie said of Selwood.
"He's tracking well. I think he was close to putting his hand up last week so I think it will definitely be up this week. He'll be a very handy addition to the midfield … especially if we lose ‘Hutchy’ (Mark Hutchings) this week."
Mark Hutchings injured his hamstring in Saturday night's 66-point win over Melbourne and is in doubt for the clash with the Suns.
Elliot Yeo is also pushing to return from a broken hand that he suffered in the Eagles' heart-stopping round 13 win over Gold Coast.
"I think he's in the mix as well," Mackenzie said.
"I'm not sure just how far away he is but he'll be close."
Mackenzie said as exciting as it is to be in the hunt for finals, the team is disappointed that a guaranteed finals berth is out of its hands.
"We're going to have to rely on other teams to do the job for us," Mackenzie said.
"Adelaide still play after us and they are the ones who can still catch us on percentage and we still need Sydney to do the job on Saturday.”
The key defender thinks the Eagles can have an impact in September if they get there.
"It's looking like either Freo or Port Adelaide. We're a chance to beat either side, I think,” Mackenzie said.
"The way we have played the second half of the year, probably the last five or six games, has really shown the kind of footy we want to be playing and I reckon we can do some damage in the finals with that."
