Eagles' Barrass not scarred by Franklin

West Coast are aiming for a slice of revenge when they take on Sydney in their AFL clash at the SCG.

Tom Barrass of the West Coast Eagles

West Coast are confident Tom Barrass can take on Lance Franklin in the AFL clash with Sydney. (AAP)

West Coast captain Shannon Hurn is confident defender Tom Barrass won't be haunted by his round-one flogging if he is sent to play on Lance Franklin again.

Franklin booted eight goals against the Eagles in round one, with a flurry of those majors coming directly against Barrass.

Even Jeremy McGovern and Will Schofield were powerless to stop Franklin that day as the Swans went on to win by 29 points.

The Eagles have won 10 straight games since that first-up loss and are aiming for revenge against Sydney on Friday night in an SCG blockbuster.

If Barrass gets first crack against Franklin again, Hurn is confident the 22-year-old won't be scarred by what happened in round one.

"He's pretty competitive and most people who play sport don't like to lose as such," Hurn said of Barrass.

"I think Tommy will just approach it as he normally does - (figure out) how to best stop a player he's going to be playing on.

"He'll probably learn from round one about what he could have done better. But really it's just about backing your instincts in and playing good football."

The Eagles will be bolstered by the return of midfielder Luke Shuey (hamstring) but Jack Darling will miss the next month with an ankle injury.

West Coast sit one win clear on top of the ladder. That gap will extend to two if they can beat Sydney.

Although a top-four finish is growing increasingly likely for West Coast, Hurn has urged his players not to get ahead of themselves.

"In life, sometimes when things are going really well, you think you're going really well," Hurn said.

"No differently than if you're playing blackjack and you win three in a row and (you think), 'Oh, I'll win the next one'.

"It's just making sure you've got the percentages in your favour and understand what you're trying to achieve, and doing them as well as you can."

Sydney (9-3) have won their past four games to move into the top four.


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Source: AAP


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