Eagles won't hide from growing AFL hype

The buzz surrounding West Coast continues to grow, and coach Adam Simpson says there's no point trying to hide from the hype.

AFL

West Coast coach Adam Simpson (right) has encouraged his players to embrace the finals hype. (AAP)

West Coast coach Adam Simpson has urged his players to embrace the growing hype surrounding the club, saying it's not the time to hide behind closed doors.

The Eagles are just one win away from securing a spot in the AFL grand final after beating Collingwood by 16 points last week.

West Coast will host either Melbourne or Hawthorn in a home preliminary final next week.

Simpson won two flags during his playing days at North Melbourne, and coached West Coast in the 2015 grand final loss to Hawthorn.

His experiences have taught him that it's important to enjoy the excitement that finals time brings, but also to buckle down when it's time to focus.

"The balance between the two is the way we normally approach it - between embracing where we're at and what we've achieved, and also staying focused on what we need to do," Simpson told Channel 7.

"We're not going to close all the doors and hide away from the attention, I think we'll embrace it all.

"But at the same time when we need to train and switch on, we'll do that as well."

West Coast were dealt a huge blow on Monday when it was confirmed that Brad Sheppard will miss the rest of the season with a significant hamstring injury.

Sheppard injured his left hamstring early in the loss to Collingwood, and will be sidelined for up to 12 weeks.

Veteran defender Will Schofield is the frontrunner to replace Sheppard, but Jackson Nelson is also in the selection frame.

"Will's been good for us all season, and I'd say he'd be next in line," Simpson said.

"But we'd need to see what's happening with the team we're playing."

Sheppard, who was unlucky to miss out on All-Australian selection this year, joins Nic Naitanui (knee) and Andrew Gaff (suspended) on the sidelines.


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Source: AAP


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