STAR defender Jeremy McGovern was restricted to light duties at West Coast's closed training session on Wednesday, but assistant coach Jaymie Graham insists the sore Eagle is in no doubt for the Grand Final.
McGovern copped Christian Petracca's knee to his hip area early in the Eagles' preliminary final belting of Melbourne and played through pain before being wrapped in cotton wool in the final term.
The triple All Australian missed Monday's training session and wasn't with the main group as they rounded out Perth preparations at Lathlain Park before flying to Melbourne on Thursday afternoon.
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"He didn't do much today, that wasn't the plan for him. He's getting better each day and the aim is for him to be able to run around at captain's run and be right to go," Graham said.
"From what I understand he's progressing as we'd hoped."
There has been scuttlebutt McGovern is battling broken ribs, but Graham told reporters the intercept marking backman simply had a corked hip pointer.
"He's had a few of them throughout the year and he's had to manage them," Graham said.
"That's what it is.
"As you saw he got it pretty early last week and he managed to fight through until he got put on ice.
"He's pretty tough and he's really competitive, so I'm sure come Grand Final day he'll find that competitive instinct and be able to fight through."
The Eagles aren't expected to make any changes from the preliminary final, with vice-captain Luke Shuey confident of overcoming a tweaked left ankle in time to face Collingwood.
West Coast trained away from prying eyes at an MCG-sized oval at the club's under-construction headquarters on Wednesday, a world away from the fanfare of Monday's raucous session in front of about 15,000 fans at Subiaco Oval.
The Eagles have stuck to their usual preparations since Monday and learnt from their 2015 Grand Final nightmare about keeping their focus.
Twelve players will step back on the big stage after that disastrous day against Hawthorn three years ago, with nine Grand Final debutants expected in the line-up this year.
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Among them are first-year goalsneaks Willie Rioli and Liam Ryan, and forwards coach Graham was confident they wouldn't be overawed in Melbourne.
The exciting duo have nailed 47 goals this season and had an influence in finals, with Rioli returning 14 touches and a major in both wins, while Ryan has kicked three goals and had 33 disposals combined.
"They've handled the first two finals pretty well. We've been really pleased and impressed with the way they've gone about it," Graham said.
"They've brought their energy and enthusiasm to the game, but we've also been impressed with what they've been able to do off the ball and from a structural compliance point-of-view they've been fantastic.
"The boys do like the attention and they do like a celebration and they haven't been fazed."
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Graham was pleased with signs spearhead Josh Kennedy had shaken off his rust after booting four first-half goals against Melbourne, but the Eagles won't be as reliant on the dual Coleman medallist as they were when he went scoreless in the 2015 decider.
The Eagles had a spread of nine goalkickers against the Dees, with Jack Darling, Jamie Cripps and Mark LeCras chipping in with three each.
"I think the beauty about the forward line is we're not relying on JK to have to kick six or seven to win games," Graham said.
"I think last time we played Collingwood (Tyson) Goldsack did a good job on him, but he probably had some missed opportunities.
"As we saw against Melbourne he came out and threw himself at every contest and had a massive impact on the game for us.
"He's excited about this opportunity as well, but he's like all others, he knows what his role is and that's to give a contest, and if he's not winning it, bringing it to ground and bringing others into the game."
