WEST Coast and Geelong will be without their star spearheads in Thursday night's important clash at Domain Stadium, with the Eagles ruling out Josh Kennedy from an early comeback from a calf injury.
The Eagles also won't rush back ruckman Scott Lycett, who hasn't been able to train due to a cut on his knee, but key defender Tom Barrass and developing half-back Tom Cole will come into the 22.
Meanwhile, defender Sharrod Wellingham will have to make his return from an ankle injury via East Perth this weekend.
Kennedy was pushing for an earlier than expected return, but the dual Coleman medallist will miss a second match after straining his calf late in the loss to GWS in round 10.
"He hasn't really trained, so we don't want to rush him back," coach Adam Simpson said.
"We were hopeful. He hasn't had any setbacks, but you've got to be careful when you're his age and it's a significant calf injury.
"We didn't push it."
Geelong counterpart Tom Hawkins is also sidelined after copping a one-week ban for a jumper punch before the Cats' bye, with Rhys Stanley his replacement.
Simpson is working through his attacking options after West Coast's forward line failed to fire without Kennedy – who missed just his fourth match in the past 107 games in the three-point loss to Gold Coast.
Jack Darling and Mark LeCras copped the backlash for going goalless in the Suns clash, although it has since emerged that Darling's first child – son Max - was born the previous night.
Simpson didn't offer excuses for the maligned big man's form – he has booted 19 goals from 10 games this year but his impact has been questionable – and believed Darling could rediscover the football which had him earmarked as a star of the future.
"He burst onto the scene in 2011 or '12 and really had impact on the competition," Simpson said.
"So the assumption was there's another level and I think there is one, and we've seen snippets of it.
"He's still having a fair share of shots on goal, but impact on the game is the next level we want to get from him and that's what we'll work through."
Simpson conceded LeCras has been a "bit off" but denied he was still battling a hip issue, amid rumblings about the out-of-contract veteran's future.
"Getting him in the best form we possibly can is a challenge, but he knows what he's doing and we'll back him in this week," he said.
Simpson wouldn't reveal plans to curb Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield and champion Joel Selwood, but said star Eagles onballer Luke Shuey was preparing to be tagged by former teammate Scott Selwood.
"He's handled it pretty well in the past, that's one of the parts of his game he's really grown in the last few years," he said.
"But for him to be a quality A-grade, All Australian midfielder he's got to handle tags like he's probably going to get this week."
Simpson said Lycett was likely to play for East Perth this weekend, however top draftee Daniel Venables – who would've debuted against the Cats if fit - will be sidelined for up to a month due to turf toe.
A call on Nic Naitanui's return from a knee reconstruction – unlikely to be before the final rounds of the season at best - has been pushed back, but the Eagles' decision won't be swayed by their finals chances.
"If he's not right, or even if he is right, he should just train like he's going to play," Simpson said.
"It's 12 months out of the game, so we wouldn't pull him back, we'll get him going and see where we're at at the end of the year in terms of finals, but that's a separate issue the way I see it."
