Eagles rocked by defender's injury
Adam Simpson fears West Coast have lost Eric Mackenzie for the 2015 season after the reigning club champion seriously injured a knee in the NAB Challenge win over Carlton in Mandurah yesterday.
Mackenzie limped from the field after hurting his right knee in a marking contest early in the second quarter at Bendigo Bank Stadium.
He played no further part in the match and left at half-time for Perth, where he was due to have scans as early as last night.
Eagles officials are contemplating the possibility the 26-year-old has torn his anterior cruciate ligament and will miss 12 months in a verdict that threatens to derail West Coast's season before it has even started.
Simpson said the initial prognosis was not great.
"I haven't had a chance to talk to him, but we fear the worst," Simpson said.
"We won't find out until (today).
"You've got your heart in your mouth when you go through these things and you just hope for the best … we all know he's an important player for us, but we'll park that for the moment and just get around him.
"We still don't know. There's still a small chance it might not be an ACL."
The injury to one of the Eagles' most important players overshadowed their second pre-season victory, a 1.9.15 (78) to 2.4.5 (47) triumph against an inexperienced Blues outfit.
Mackenzie's injury happened in innocuous circumstances on the outer wing early in the second term.
The key defender was backing into a marking contest with Carlton forward Levi Casboult when his right leg appeared to twist awkwardly and he collapsed to the ground.
The injury occurred despite no contact between the players.
Five trainers immediately rushed to Mackenzie's aid.
The 121-game defender was helped from the ground and was biting on a towel in clear distress as he made his way into the change rooms.
A strong Eagles side flexed its muscles in Mackenzie's absence after half-time, with Matt Priddis, Luke Shuey and Matt Rosa all busy in their first pre-season hit-outs.
An inaccurate West Coast broke the match open by kicking four of the five goals in the third quarter.
Josh Kennedy kicked four goals, including a monster nine-pointer, while Mark LeCras contributed two majors in promising signs for West Coast's potency while they are without Jack Darling (foot).
Simpson said the club was not getting carried away with the result.
"We came and did what we needed to do," Simpson said.
"We played more of a senior side than Carlton did."
Jeremy McGovern spent the match in defence in a move that could become a permanent feature if Mackenzie's injury is serious.
Xavier Ellis had 14 disposals on return from injury before being substituted off at half-time, while Brad Sheppard finished with 23 disposals.
There's still a small chance it might not be an ACL."Adam Simpson
