Greater Western Sydney star Darcy Jones confident Giants can cover potential loss of Jesse Hogan
Hogan failed to train again on Wednesday, due to illness, as he continues to battle soreness that also sidelined him from Monday's session.
The Coleman Medallist is now highly unlikely to travel west for the Optus Stadium clash, set to join defender Lachie Whitfield (concussion) as a forced omission from the club's pre-bye win over Gold Coast.
Hogan kicked an equal career-high nine goals against the Eagles last time the two clubs met in round four.
'We've got the depths and the keys (key position players) to fill his spot,' Jones said of the potential loss of Hogan.
'We're not too worried. We've still got good players to fill his shoes... It's good that we don't have to just rely on individual players, it's a whole system forward line and we've all got our own roles.
'If someone goes down, we've got someone to fill the spot.'
Despite winning their past two games, GWS have slipped out of the eight in recent weeks, sitting ninth on percentage.
Jones said while it was 'important' to get the four points over last-placed West Coast, the Giants won't be taking the Eagles lightly on their home deck.
'They're always very competitive over West and we'll certainly be playing to the best of our abilities to to win, ' he said.
'They're very competitive... it takes four quarters to beat them. They normally stick with teams, good teams to the last quarter or third quarter so we've got to make sure of that.'
Jones, who grew up supporting West Coast, is set to play his first game in Perth and will come up against close friend Elijah Hewett for the first time on Friday.
The pair were both drafted out of Swan Districts in the first round of the 2022 draft but have battled injury setbacks in their first three seasons.
Jones said about 30 family and friends will be at Optus Stadium to watch him play.
'I'm so excited. I've got older grandparents, cousins and just family that haven't seen me play before. I just can't wait for them to be able to come down and watch. It should be very exciting.'
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