Injury hits Hewett as Eagles unleash four AFL debutants

The No.1 pick from last year's draft, Willem Duursma, will join pick No.4 Cooper Duff-Tytler and pick No.19 Josh Lindsay in making their AFL debuts, alongside mature-age pick-up Milan Murdock.

Former Lions midfielder Deven Robertson and ex-Tigers defender Tylar Young have also been confirmed to play their first Eagles game.

The Suns are such heavy favourites to beat last year's wooden spooners that most betting agencies are only offering $1.01 odds for the premiership fancies.

West Coast enter the season missing a host of key players, with a bunch of others either underdone or in doubt for Sunday.

Boom recruit Brandon Starcevich will miss three to four weeks after suffering two calf injuries in short succession, key defender Harry Edwards is out with concussion, while co-captain Liam Baker and ex-Crow Harry Schoenberg are both suspended.

And with Hewett the latest to be cut down, it means at least 12 players will be unavailable for West Coast's season opener on the Gold Coast.

Hewett battled a calf niggle in the pre-season and was racing the clock to prove his fitness for round one.

The 21-year-old was a notable no-show at training on Thursday, and the Eagles have since confirmed he is battling a quad injury that will sideline him for one to two weeks.

"He's just missed a little bit of time now, so he's going to have to build himself back up," Eagles coach Andrew McQualter said.

In better news, Ginbey has been cleared to play after recovering sufficiently enough from a toe complaint.

McQualter isn't sure whether Ginbey will have to carry the injury throughout the year, but the 21-year-old will at least be available to play Gold Coast in a backline already missing Edwards, Baker and Starcevich.

"Like most players, there's always something going on from a physical point of view," McQualter said.

"But he's as tough a soldier as we've got.

"He's been in main training now for two sessions, and he'll train today, and he'll be right to go."

Starcevich arrived at West Coast on a four-year deal, and the two-time Brisbane Lions premiership defender has been left frustrated by his summer-time setbacks, which also included a knee injury.

"He's missed that last little block now, but he's been doing this for a long time and he's a pro and we've got him for a long period of time," McQualter said.

Wrap