Naitanui, Kerr out for Eagles
West Coast will rest Nic Naitanui this weekend against the Western Bulldogs and there is no guarantee he will play again this year after the Eagles opted to give him respite from back and groin soreness that have dogged him over the past month.
Coach John Worsfold confirmed that Naitanui would not play this week against the Bulldogs, and probably not next week against Gold Copast.
He expects Scott Lycett, reprieved at the WAFL tribunal on Tuesday night, to take his place.
Midfielder Daniel Kerr also looks certain to miss after his “good” knee swelled up after playing for East Fremantle at the weekend.
Meanwhile Worsfold also hosed down speculation that a decision on his coaching tenure at the Eagles was imminent, declaring he would work through a process over the next four to six weeks to determine his suitability and want to go on leading the Eagles in 2014.
But there are shorter term implications for Naitanui, who has laboured through the past month and was kickless, markless and tackleless before three quarter time against Sydney at the weekend.
Worsfold said rest and not surgery appeared to be the short term solution to Naitanui’s issues.
“He is definitely out this week. It depends on how he pulls up but he will have complete rest this week and probably most of next week and we will see how he goes,” he said. “If some of his issues resolve then we will build him up and see how he goes. That is the plan.”
“His back is an ongoing thing. He has just got a back that might flare up at various times throughout his life. That is not a major issue but it is when he tweaks it. It gets sore.”
“The pain he is getting, I am not sure whether you would call it adductor pain, groin pain, whatever you want to term it. There was always a chance after the surgery he had post season, a high chance that they get some pain he following season and that has flare dup over the past month. The first six weeks he was going pretty well and then he landed very heavily against Essendon and that has caused the majority of the issues.”
It is likely Naitanui will miss two to three weeks – during a period when West Coast’s finals chances go on the line but Worsfold said he would not be rushed.
“We want to see when we start building him back up what the level of workload he can do before any soreness may rear its head. If that is only in a light training session it may mean he needs extended rest. If he gets through a training session we will build it up again and see what he can cope with before he is ready to step into a game,” he said.
