WEST Coast's three emergencies will all fly to Adelaide for Saturday's face-off against the Power, with the Eagles sweating on the fitness of ruckman Nathan Vardy and young midfielder Liam Duggan.
Vardy is battling a sore elbow suffered in the Western Derby last weekend, while Duggan has a corked thigh and was wearing a full-length compression bandage at Eagles headquarters on Thursday.
Big man Fraser McInnes has been upgraded from the rookie list as cover for Vardy.
"We'll take him over to Adelaide. We'll give Vardy every chance to play, it's more about can he handle the pain, rather than the injury," coach Adam Simpson said.
"So along with Duggan, we'll take him over and test him late."
Simpson strongly hinted the Eagles would stick with two genuine ruckmen to combat Port Adelaide's spring-heeled big man Paddy Ryder.
Jonathan Giles and Vardy competed strongly against Fremantle giant Aaron Sandilands, while pinch-hitter Jeremy McGovern switched back to defence and was close to best-on-ground against the Dockers.
"Thinking about opposition and how they scout us, I think they'd be pretty happy if (McGovern) was up forward," Simpson said.
"But having said that, I still think there's opportunity to go there (or ruck) if he needs to."
The Eagles have lost their past two on the road, both at the MCG, and the 'flat-track bullies' tag has resurfaced.
West Coast's premiership credentials were savaged following a hammering from Hawthorn in round five, and Simpson was left with more questions than answers after his side bounced back with a 41-point derby rout of Freo.
"It's the biggest test for us to get that consistency in our game and, regardless of where we play, that's what we're looking for," Simpson said.
"Until we do that, I think there's always going to be question-marks about us, whether we travel or not, whether we play good sides or sides we potentially should beat.
"Until we get that right, we won't press for top four, and top eight is always going to be a challenge."
With four wins from five games at Adelaide Oval, Saturday's venue should hold no fears for the Eagles, but Simpson wasn't buying into talk that record boosts West Coast's chances against the Power.
"It's just too simplistic," he said.
"You've got to look at the opposition and how you're going with your consistency at the moment, rather than what happened last year.
"At the moment (Port) have got unbelievable availability. To have everyone available by round seven is just a remarkable effort.
"On-field, they've got that really good balance at the moment with contested ball, and being top one or two for attack and defence.
"Across the board they've improved in almost every area."
Simpson insisted veteran Sam Mitchell would be fine to face Port despite carrying a sore ankle into the derby.
Meanwhile, last week's debutant Kurt Mutimer, who has re-signed for two more years, will get another crack after shrugging off a sore knee.
