Jack Darling might face a tough task to reclaim his place in West Coast forward line after Jeremy McGovern's superb showing in Thursday night's win over Sydney.
Darling missed the 26-point win over Sydney at Domain Stadium with an ankle complaint forcing Eagles coach Adam Simpson into a reshuffle.
That saw All-Australian defender McGovern pushed into attack in place of Darling and he impressed in tandem with Josh Kennedy.
McGovern finished with 19 possessions and eight marks, looking more than capable of delivering plenty as a permanent forward with the Eagles back-line coping admirably in his absence.
Will Schofield came into the line-up and along with Tom Barrass helped limit the impact of Lance Franklin and Sam Reid for the Swans.
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With Eric Mackenzie a back up for West Coast's defence, it is not out of the question for McGovern to remain forward.
That leaves Simpson with a decision to make about Darling, who has struggled to shine in 2017 even before his injury.
The other option would be leaving out one of the big men in Jonathan Giles and Nathan Vardy who have been splitting ruck and forward duties.
The latter might seem the likeliest choice but by missing the win over Sydney, Darling has shown he is replaceable.
Simpson was happy with what McGovern delivered and expects to have to make a big call one way or the other ahead of next Sunday's clash with Hawthorn at the MCG.
"We might explore doing more of it. It's something we have been toying with for a long time, but he (McGovern) has just been so bloody good down back," Simpson said.
"To be forced to make a few changes and have a bit of flexibility in our side sometimes opens things up. Maybe we'll reflect on that. You want flexibility in your side and you want unpredictability as well.
"We train our players up for other roles, but they are pretty good at playing the role they are in as well.
"Sometimes throwing to that during a game is difficult to get a result from and it's a bit of a Hail Mary.
"But when you plan it during the week they will play anywhere you ask them."
