West Coast coach Adam Simpson says Andrew Gaff should be a "no-brainer" for All-Australian selection despite his brain fade against Fremantle.
Gaff has been selected in the extended 40-man All-Australian squad, with the final 22 to be named on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old was enjoying a career-best season before he punched Fremantle's Andrew Brayshaw in round 20.
Brayshaw's jaw was broken in that incident and Gaff copped an eight-week ban, ruling him out of this year's finals.
Gaff missed the last three weeks of the home-and-away season through suspension, but Simpson said the midfielder's performances before then should be more than enough to earn him a second All-Australian jumper.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Gaff, who's in Melbourne with his ill father, has averaged a career-high 30.7 possessions per game this season to go with his 12 goals.
"I just think he just deserves it, regardless of what he's been through," Simpson said of Gaff's All-Australian chances.
"His form up until three weeks ago was in the top five of the comp so I would have thought he was a no-brainer."
Eagles captain Shannon Hurn is a chance to be named the All-Australian skipper, while Jeremy McGovern and Elliot Yeo were the other Eagles named in the extended squad.
West Coast finished in second spot with last week's win over Brisbane and they'll host Collingwood in a qualifying final at Optus Stadium on Saturday week.
If the Eagles win that, they'll host a preliminary final.
Simpson is confident star forward Josh Kennedy (shin) and defender Lewis Jetta (calf) will be fit to take on the Magpies.
West Coast have won nine of their 12 games at Optus Stadium this year, with their only losses against Sydney, Melbourne, and Essendon.
Collingwood got a taste of the new 60,000-seat venue last week when they beat Fremantle by nine points in a thriller.
Simpson said his team simply couldn't rely on home-ground advantage to get the job done against Collingwood.
"(The stadium) is still relatively new for us. We haven't locked down the home-ground fortress type of feel at the moment," Simpson said.
"But having said that, we've trained there every week, we're comfortable with the rooms, the crowd is awesome, so it's a privilege to play there."
