West Coast coach John Worsfold has thrown down the challenge to his youth-laden backline to rein in a white-hot St Kilda at Subiaco Oval tomorrow.
With captain Darren Glass, Adam Hunter, Brett Jones and Beau Waters all unavailable, the injury-crippled Eagles will be forced to rely on 22-year-old Beau Wilkes, 20-year-old Eric Mackenzie and 21-year-old Matt Spangher to hold down key posts in defence.
Between them, the trio have just 12 AFL games to their name. Wilkes is the most "experienced" with eight games.
St Kilda enter the clash on a four-game winning streak and with star forward Nick Riewoldt in dominant form.
In the past four rounds, Riewoldt has averaged 23.5 possessions, 13.5 marks and more than three goals per match.
Worsfold said either Wilkes, Mackenzie or Spangher - or a mix of all three - would get the job on Riewoldt, who lines up for his 150th match.
"They've all got capabilities in that they're good runners as well, and that's one of the big things about playing on Riewoldt," Worsfold said.
"(It's) another great challenge and great opportunity for them that they wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
"Wilkes had a run with (Jonathan) Brown at times last week and Mackenzie had (Daniel) Bradshaw, so we are comfortable giving them those challenges.
"That's the best learning curve, to play at senior level and to play on the best players. It's invaluable."
The Eagles have made four changes to the side that lost to Brisbane last week, recalling retiring veteran Michael Braun, Steven Armstrong, Mark Seaby and Spangher at the expense of Josh Kennedy (knee), Glass (thigh), Tim Houlihan (omitted) and Ryan Davis (omitted).
St Kilda have made just the one change to the team that beat Hawthorn, with former Eagle Michael Gardiner replacing the suspended Justin Koschitzke.
Seaby has not featured for the Eagles since round 12 but assistant coach Darren Harris said the 24-year-old was still a required player at the club.
"He's part of our future, he just signed a new two-year deal earlier in the year," Harris said.
"In Seaby's defence we've got a ruckman (in Dean Cox) who can play 110 minutes and is dominating the competition with regards to how he's going in that position, so it limits the amount of time Seaby can have in the ruck."
Harris scoffed at suggestions Kennedy would require surgery on his knee after injuring it for the second time this season.
"He needs to rest it for it to be 100 per cent. I don't think it's a surgery matter. It's just basically rest," he said.
Saints veteran Robert Harvey will line up for his 375th VFL-AFL game, placing him equal fourth alongside Carlton great Craig Bradley.
Should the Eagles lose to the Saints, it would equal the club's worst ever losing run of eight consecutive games, set between rounds 5-12 in 2001.
