West Coast's bad run of luck with injuries has continued, with the Eagles failing to exit their opening scratch match against Fremantle with a clean bill of health.
Prior to the opening bounce of the now-annual meeting with the Dockers, the Eagles were forced to remove recent ruck recruit Matthew Flynn from the line-up, with the ex-Giant said to have sustained a hamstring injury during West Coast's training run on Friday.
“Unfortunately, it appears Matt has injured a hamstring tendon during a routine ruck drill yesterday,” West Coast GM Gavin Bell told Eagles Media.
“We will gather further information over the weekend as we assess the extent of the injury and the possible timeline on his projected return to play.”
On-field, the news wasn't much better for Adam Simpson's men, with the innacurate Eagles going down by 52 points to their nearest neighbours and gun midfield prospect Reuben Ginbey exiting the clash early after suffering a head knock.
Post game, West Coast assistant coach Luke Webster confirmed the 19-year-old had entered the league's concussion protocols.
Across the course of his debut season in royal blue and gold, Ginbey, a Western Australian native, announced himself to the competition as an inside bull, averaging 13.7 disposals, 5.9 tackles and 2.5 clearances in each of his 17 senior starts.
While Ginbey's early departure from the fixture at Mineral Resources Park let some of the air out of the Eagles' ballon, when recent No.1 draftee Harley Reid remained on the deck late in the game.
However, heart rates were brought back down when Webster stated that both Reid and fellow youngster Brady Hough had only been curtailed with cramp.
The Eagles will travel to face Adelaide at Hisense Stadium next Saturday afternoon to complete their pre-season program.
West Coast will then return to the City of Churches to start their 2024 campaign, facing off against Port Adelaide on Sunday, March 17 at the Adelaide Oval.