Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
West Coast are confident that veteran Tim Kelly will be ready to take on Adelaide this Friday, while they are still waiting for more information on a rising star.
Kelly has been one of the Eagles’ best this season, providing invaluable support to Harley Reid in the middle, averaging more than 23 touches and four clearances from his 13 games this season.
The 31-year-old did not travel to face Carlton due to a hamstring injury picked up at training, but high performance manager Phil Merriman said he expects Kelly to be available for selection this week in line with coach Andrew McQualter’s comments on Monday.
“Tim experienced some tightness in his hamstring in the last session of the week,” he said.
“We obviously made the decision not to risk him. He is on track to complete all of training this week and be available for selection.”
It comes as West Coast will await more information before putting a timeline on Cooper Duff-Tytler after last year’s No.2 pick failed to play out the game against Carlton after picking up a calf injury.
The Eagles have carefully managed the emerging ruckman’s workloads this season and could be set for a decent stint on the sidelines.
“Cooper felt some tightness in his calf in the third quarter against Carlton on the weekend,” Merriman said.
“We are letting his calf settle, and once he begins his run program, we will have a clearer understanding of timeframes.”
Fellow forward-ruck Archer Reid is also a wait-and-see after going under the knife in an effort to return from a knee injury this season.
“Archer, along with our doctors, made the decision to have a small procedure on his knee last week,” Merriman said.
“Archer will recover from surgery and then hopefully get going in a couple of weeks.”
In better news, defender Reuben Ginbey has commenced his return-to-run program and remains an outside chance of featuring late this season.
“We will be building his volume and function over the next few weeks,” Merriman said.
Fellow key defender Harry Edwards was back at Eagles training on Tuesday following being given a specialist rehabilitation program by the AFL’s concussion panel.
While he will be out for the rest of the year, Merriman said the Eagles expect Edwards to be back to full training for 2027.
“Harry attended the AFL Concussion Panel last Thursday, and the decision was made to give him more time to recover from his concussions earlier this year,” Merriman said.
“Pleasingly, we will look to have Harry back into full training at the start of pre-season.”
Fringe forward Tyler Brockman could be in line for his first game of the season as he prepares to make a WAFL return following a knee and off-field issues.
“Brocky was close to playing last week after developing some hamstring tightness,” Merriman said.
“Given his lack of training volume over the season, we made the decision not to risk him. He will be a test this week.”
West Coast Round 17 Injury List
Tyler Brockman (hamstring) test
Tim Kelly (hamstring) test
Sam Allen (knee/hamstring) 7 weeks
Reuben Ginbey (quad) 7 weeks
Cooper Duff-Tytler (calf) TBC
Archer Reid (knee) TBC
Harry Edwards (concussion) season
Noah Long (knee) season
Jacobe Newton (foot) season
Dev Robertson (knee) season
