WEST Coast is set to resist any temptation to deploy star forward Oscar Allen in the ruck this weekend as he makes his anticipated return from a long-term foot injury, despite availability concerns with the club's big men.
No.1 ruckman Nic Naitanui (Achilles tendon soreness) faces a challenge to be available for the opening round after undergoing a long physical test at Monday morning's training session, while back-up ruck Bailey Williams (hamstring) is also in doubt.
If Naitanui and Williams are unable to prove their fitness, it will leave Callum Jamieson to lead the ruck with little recognised support against North Melbourne on Saturday.
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Allen was often used as a relief ruckman between 2019-21, but the 23-year-old said he expected to settle as a permanent forward this season, starting with the season opener against the Kangaroos.
"At this stage it's not in our calculations," Allen said on Monday when asked if he expected to ruck at all this season.
"If the tap on the shoulder comes, I'll definitely do it. But it's something we've been working towards the last couple of years, to get me more in a permanent forward position.
"I'm really grateful, particularly earlier in my career, that my versatility and ability to play in the ruck probably kept me in the side ... and it's helped me develop as a footballer.
"There were definitely days where 'Simmo' (coach Adam Simpson) and the coaching staff could have left me out and played another small forward."
Naitanui has appeared a long shot for round one ever since Simpson declared the dual club champion was "doubtful" at the Eagles' season launch.
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On Monday, the ruckman worked with strength and conditioning coach Mark Kilgallon away from the main group and was put through a physical session that lasted more than 45 minutes.
It included plenty of run-throughs while also testing his agility, spring, and strength before finishing with several crunching tackles on a tackling bag.
The three-time All-Australian appeared to complete the session without incident before heading inside while his teammates continued to train.
How the 32-year-old recovers from the session on Tuesday will be critical to determining his availability.
Meanwhile, key forward Jack Darling appears a strong chance of pressing his claims after a pre-season ankle injury that had threatened to rule him out of the early rounds.
Darling moved well at Monday's session and joined the main group, with Allen hopeful the 30-year-old premiership forward will be available.
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"He's got some medical things to tick off through the week, and obviously it's only Monday, so there's still quite a while to go ... I really hope he gets out there," Allen said.
Saturday's season opener will be Allen's first match at AFL level since round 23, 2021, after a stress-related bone issue in his foot saw him ruled out for the entire 2022 season.
After getting through the pre-season unscathed, Allen said he was looking forward to ticking the final box in his return and getting back to the weekly cycle of an AFL season.
"I'm completely over it now. The strength and conditioning staff, the physios, the doctors, have done a great job managing me," he said.
"I've got to a stage where I'm on a modified program at stages with other people. It doesn't mean we're injured or sore, it's just our loading program.
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"There's been a lot of thought and effort put into it from people who are a lot smarter than me, so just follow their request and it's working so far. I'm really grateful for the work they've put in.
"It feels great, the body's been feeling really good for the last five or six months now and I've had a really good training phase. So (I'm) just looking forward to testing myself out this weekend."
