STAR West Coast forward Mark LeCras has failed in his bid to return for Saturday's must-win clash with Essendon at Etihad Stadium.
LeCras was a late withdrawal from last week's win over Collingwood due to a calf injury, and the 2010 All Australian has been ruled out for a second straight week.
But Eagles coach Adam Simpson said Nic Naitanui is fit to play despite ongoing soreness, while ruckman Dean Cox will also be named in the side after a strong performance last week.
The Eagles sit just one game adrift of seventh spot, but a loss to the Bombers would end their finals hopes.
West Coast is gathering significant momentum following two very impressive wins over Adelaide and Collingwood in the last two weeks, but Simpson was wary of getting too excited about his side's form and the prospect of finals.
"We have played two good games in a row," Simpson said.
"I hope the players don't think that's any type of achievement, really. They are events at the moment. We need to make it a pattern. It takes more than two weeks.
"They should have confidence about what we have achieved, but I don't think they are satisfied."
The first-year coach said the message to his players had not changed with finals in sight.
"Three or four weeks ago we embarked on finishing off the year well and doing some basic KPIs that we've set out as a group, and they are based around winning your own ball," Simpson said.
"It's really simple what we're going through at the moment, but it's paid off a little bit."
The Eagles have had an extremely light week on the training track given the six-day break and the trip to Etihad Stadium to face the Bombers.
If the Eagles win, and a couple of results go their way, they could be in the eight by the end of the round.
But Simpson said beating the Bombers would be tough given they were the third best defensive side in the AFL this season behind the Sydney Swans and Fremantle.
"At their best, they're very hard to score against, and they control the ball well," he said.
