West Coast young gun Reuben Ginbey will face his toughest challenge yet when he takes on the might of star Melbourne midfielders Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver.
Ginbey has been a revelation since being snared by the Eagles with pick No.9 in last year's national draft.
The 18-year-old has tallied a league-high 26 tackles across the opening three rounds while playing on stars such as Luke Davies-Uniacke (North Melbourne), Tom Green (GWS) and Caleb Serong (Fremantle).
The challenge will be even bigger on Sunday against Melbourne's star-studded midfield, with coach Adam Simpson flagging the prospect of Ginbey spending time on Petracca and Oliver.
"He's playing on the league's best players every week. We feel that suits him to go to the best. This week, take your pick," Simpson said.
"It's a little bit unfair to stick an 18-year-old on these guys, but he seems to have handled it pretty well so far.
"Our expectations are just around exposure. You don't have to be our best player.
"He's leading the league for tackles. He's pretty honest the way he goes about it. I don't think you're going to see a massive fluctuation with form."
The Eagles were forced to make seven injury-enforced changes following last week's 41-point western derby loss to Fremantle.
Skipper Luke Shuey (hamstring), Jamie Cripps (broken ankle), Jeremy McGovern (hamstring), Liam Ryan (hamstring), Campbell Chesser (knee) and Alex Witherden (concussion) were all injured during the match.
Midfielder Dom Sheed fractured his larynx at training on Thursday, while Harry Edwards - who was tipped to replace McGovern, was ruled out after rolling his ankle on Tuesday.
Veteran Elliot Yeo returns for his first match of the year, while Brady Hough, Connor West, Greg Clark, Luke Edwards and Jai Culley were also included.
The Demons recalled Tom McDonald to replace fellow forward Ben Brown (back), while speedster Kysaiah Pickett returns from suspension.
Simpson says he won't be telling his players to pull out of dangerous marking contests despite losing Witherden to concussion.
Witherden was accidentally cleaned up by Dockers midfielder Jaeger O'Meara in a mid-air collision after flying for a mark with the flight of the ball.
Concussion has hit West Coast heavily in recent years, with both Daniel Venables and Brad Sheppard forced to retire early.
Simpson will continue to encourage his players to play the game on instinct.
"I think it's really hard to pull out when you know you can mark it," Simpson said.
"I haven't given any advice. I think you just go for it and mark it.
"I think Witherden thought he was on his own. Maybe have a look before you go.
"But that's just the game. We like the bravery, and sometimes it comes with a consequence."
