WEST Coast is hatching plans to restrict Geelong's 'Holy Trinity' but coach Adam Simpson is wary of putting too much work into the Cats' star-studded midfield ahead of Sunday's clash at Optus Stadium.
Last time the teams met in round 13 last year the Eagles successfully limited the influence of Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield in one of West Coast's best high-pressure performances of an inconsistent campaign.
But now the Cats have welcomed back favourite son Gary Ablett, and West Coast is weighing up how to quell the fearsome trio, who were prolific on Easter Monday against Hawthorn.
While Simpson is keeping his cards close to his chest, Elliot Yeo could reprise his head-to-head battle with Dangerfield.
"Who do you go to? Looking at last time we played them we had a couple of roles," Simpson said.
"I won't be giving away too much, but we need to give them some attention.
"We've got to put some things in place and talk through some scenarios.
"Rest assured we're going through all those details, but it's more than just two or three players with Geelong."
The Eagles' best hope of beating the Cats' midfield appears to be by taking full toll from their dominant ruck duo Nic Naitanui and Scott Lycett.
West Coast leads the AFL for hit-outs with 120 – 15 more than next best side Melbourne – but has been beaten around clearances by Sydney and the Bulldogs.
"That's something we've got to put a lot of focus on," Simpson said.
"We're definitely not maximising that at the moment.
"This week with the quality we're going against it will be another challenge.
"But it's a good problem to have."
Simpson hinted there might be no changes after a confidence-boosting belting of the Dogs, declaring first-year Eagles Liam Ryan, Willie Rioli, Daniel Venables and Jake Waterman certain starters.
"Definitely. They're holding up their end of the bargain and they're bringing real excitement to the group," he said.
"I think our leaders have been energised as well with what they've seen.
"The signs we're seeing at the moment is really exciting for us."
While the cream of West Coast's youngsters have given fans a glimpse of a bright future, WAFL alignment club East Perth has copped consecutive triple-figure poundings.
The Royals were thumped by back-to-back premier Peel by 104 points in a practice match before going down to powerhouse Subiaco by 118 points in round one.
"We were disappointed for the club. We're a different profile at East Perth now, we're going to have a lot more young talent coming through and we need to compliment that with the East Perth boys as well," Simpson said.
"It wasn't a great day (against Subiaco) but I can't shy away from it. I think the boys are pretty keen to come out this week and change that direction.
"Hopefully that's an aberration. Let's talk about it in a couple of weeks and see where we're at."
