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Eagles to elevate McGovern

Eagles to elevate McGovern

Jeremy McGovern will make his long-awaited debut for West Coast against Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Coach Adam Simpson today revealed McGovern would play his first game for the club after being taken with pick 44 in the 2011 rookie draft.

It completes a rapid turnaround for the son of former Fremantle and Sydney player Andrew McGovern after the 22-year-old was banished from training with the main group over summer after returning to the club out of shape.

Simpson said the 195cm key position player could line up either forward or back against the Blues.

“That’s fantastic for him and the footy club,” he said.

“He’s our third first-gamer to play this year so we’re looking forward to seeing how he goes.

“He’s come a long way pretty quickly under my watch.

“He did come back out of shape for pre-season, which was really disappointing.

“The first impression wasn’t a great one.

“He did a little bit of work away from the club with (Mark) Nicoski, and came back in really good nick just before Christmas.

“We played him down back a little bit and he’s earned his spot.

“He’s done really well.”

Simpson also confirmed free agency recruit Xavier Ellis would miss the match after he suffered a minor calf strain in their loss to Port Adelaide last weekend.

The team flies to Melbourne this afternoon hoping to stop a run of consecutive losses against Carlton.