WEST Coast breathed life back into its finals bid with victory in the final Western Derby at Domain Stadium, but injury setbacks to star utility Elliot Yeo and ruckman Scott Lycett could wipe some gloss off the 30-point win over Fremantle.
Yeo was a late withdrawal from the victory due to soreness at the back of his knee, and coach Adam Simpson is hopeful he and Malcolm Karpany (quad) will be available for a crucial away trip against Collingwood next Sunday.
But there are fresh concerns over Lycett, who is battling soreness in the left shoulder he dislocated and needed surgery on in pre-season.
Lycett made his long-awaited AFL comeback last round but was withdrawn from the squad to face Freo and will be assessed on Monday.
"It could be one week, it could be the season, we haven't worked that out yet," Simpson said.
"It's just a bit sore, a bit grumbly.
"We'll see how he responds to some treatment over the weekend."
Five talking points: Fremantle v West Coast
Simpson, who is keen to settle his line-up after five changes this week, praised his leaders and youngsters for standing up in Sunday's vital derby win.
Skipper Shannon Hurn was outstanding with 34 touches and eight rebound 50s to clinch the Ross Glendinning Medal by unanimous decision, while youngster Liam Duggan (31) played his best game for the club across half-back.
The Eagles' defence was overworked against the woefully inaccurate Dockers, forced to repel 57 inside 50s while the forward line was efficient enough to kick a winning score from 46 entries.
WATCH Adam Simpson's full post-match press conference
"Our backs stood up pretty well today – I don't know how many intercept marks they took and how many goals they saved, and we got lucky on a couple with them missing some easy shots – but we don't want to have to rely on our backs to save the day," Simpson said.
"We did today. A little bit."
Returning spearhead Josh Kennedy booted three goals, with sidekicks Mark LeCras and Jack Darling chipping in with two apiece.
"To get that first goal was good for (Kennedy) and it was good for Jack Darling to still have an impact on the game with a different-looking forward line," Simpson said.
"It's been really good for him the last five weeks to lead those forwards down there."
West Coast's ninth victory lifted the club back into eighth spot on the ladder and the Eagles will be searching for back-to-back wins for the first time since round eight against Collingwood at Etihad Stadium.
