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Eagles' Shuey a certainty to face Magpies

3 minute read

West Coast will welcome back skipper Luke Shuey for Sunday's AFL clash with Collingwood, after notching a 10th straight derby win over Fremantle without him.

LUKE SHUEY
LUKE SHUEY Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

West Coast coach Adam Simpson has declared Luke Shuey a certainty for Sunday's blockbuster clash with Collingwood after the skipper was withdrawn from the derby win over Fremantle.

Shuey was initially named against the Dockers just two weeks after injuring his hamstring, but was ruled out shortly before the match.

West Coast overcame the loss of their captain to post a convincing 30-point win over Fremantle, 9.8 (62) to 5.2 (32).

The addition of Shuey will give West Coast a huge boost against the third-placed Magpies.

"He was really close," Simpson said of Shuey's withdrawal against Fremantle.

"He put his hand up to play and we gave him a really good fitness test (on Saturday).

"But overnight we decided to just take the precaution, give him an extra week to recover.

"In the end it was just one or two days too late. He'll play (against Collingwood) for sure."

West Coast have now won a record 10 western derbies in a row.

"It's a good achievement by the club in general," Simpson said.

"A lot of our senior players have seen the hard days and I'm really proud that they got rewarded.

"But I don't think it's going to define us this year. It's probably just something for the record books that we can look back on in years to come."

Spearhead Josh Kennedy was best afield with 4.4 and four contested marks.

Fremantle (2-5) slipped to 15th spot following the loss.

The Dockers led by five points early in the second quarter, but were blown off the park from that point on.

Key forward Matt Taberner was in hot form in the opening quarter, but had a moment to forget when he decided to play on after taking a mark in the goal square.

The 27-year-old was tackled by Tom Cole, with the Eagles defender winning a holding-the-ball free kick.

Dockers coach Justin Longmuir said Taberner would learn from the experience.

"Clearly he'd like that back," Longmuir said.

"But I didn't think it was a significant moment in the game. We were in front early in the second quarter.

"It's one moment. I thought Tabs moved on really well and kept on providing an option, and he was probably one of our better players in the end."

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