Western derby: West Coast Eagles star Jeremy McGovern out of Fremantle Dockers clash with lung injury
West Coast interim coach Jarrad Schofield has hinted veteran forward Jack Darling could make a shock move into defence after Jeremy McGovern was withdrawn from the western derby.
It comes as Schofield denied the clash against Fremantle was their grand final, despite it being their biggest game to round out the season and a big chance for him to put his case forward to take the role on full-time.
McGovern failed a fitness test on Friday morning on his rib and lung injury that has sidelined him since the round 17 loss to Melbourne — Adam Simpson’s last game in charge.
Speedster Jack Petruccelle gets a reprieve after initially being dropped alongside Campbell Chesser and Jamaine Jones, while Alex Witherden was initially dropped but is now not even an emergency because of a hip injury.
The Eagles were boosted by the returns of reigning Glendinning-Allan medallist Elliot Yeo and leading goalkicker Jake Waterman, but shocked many by recalling Darling after he was dropped following the 54-point belting at the hands of the Demons.
Schofield said the 293-game forward would give them what they lacked against St Kilda last weekend which was pressure inside forward 50, having not laid a tackle in there.
It would be a shock move though given Darling is second at the club for all-time goals, having kicked 528 since he made his debut in 2011.
![Jeremy McGovern.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15486374/86f6fa043f93769752e6ecab45466341bcea104f-161x229-x0y94w2407h3424.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
“We’re thinking he can add to add to our team where we fell short last week with his contest and pressure work,” Schofield said.
“He’s been training well, when he went out of the side there was some things in his game he had to work on, he’s done that in the past two weeks, had a WAFL game, did it well at training.
“We’re expecting him to play his role.”
What Darling’s role is though isn’t clear yet, with the Eagles short a tall defender with McGovern injured, while Witherden has played above his height as the third tall defender throughout this season.
Fremantle play two tall forwards in Josh Treacy and Jye Amiss, while Luke Jackson also spends significant time in attack when he’s not rucking.
Schofield was reluctant to say who would be the third tall to help curtail the trio but hinted it could be Darling or 191cm Brady Hough.
“Someone will have to size up and play a bit taller,” he said.
“Brady Hough can play taller, we’ve got some options. I keep mentioning about Jack Darling and his role, so we’ll see what happens there.”
![Jack Darling.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-15486374/db3cd043fcb98718ebe384f447e7573b38df1642-4x3-x769y0w6155h4616.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
The Eagles shocked everyone with a 37-point win over Fremantle in round six and there is a view that this game means more than the rest of their remaining five given the rivalry.
Schofield acknowledged there was more feeling in the derby than most other games, but said it was just “another opportunity for us to get better”.
“You’ve got to get excited about derbies. I’ve been a part of two, I’ve been a part of the showdown in Adelaide and I think it’s a great opportunity for our young players to be exposed in this environment,” he said.
“There’s a little bit more in it because there’s two WA teams going at it, but it’s not our grand final.
“It’s about us getting better from last week, where we let ourselves down and once again, we get an opportunity to expose our young fellas and for our senior players to lead.”
Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.
Sign up for our emails