Western derby: West Coast coach Andrew McQualter says the Eagles are embracing underdog tag
The Dockers are an almost unbackable $1.03 with TABTouch to beat the one-win Eagles at Optus Stadium on Saturday and draw closer in the all-time head-to-head which sits at 33-27 in favour of the latter.
Fremantle have won eight of their past nine games to sit comfortably in the top eight and are pushing to secure a double chance for the first time in 10 years.
The in-form Dockers are expected to easily account for last-placed West Coast, who are all but certain to claim a third wooden spoon in club history with only five games remaining in their season.
McQualter said taking on a rampaging Fremantle in front of a nearly packed house of the purple faithful was a challenge they would embrace.
'Absolutely we do (embrace being underdogs). It's no surprise, I'm not sure the last time that a team was $1.03 and lost but that's the beauty of this game,' he said.
'We're a young, developing team. We didn't play our best footy last week and these guys have been in really good form for a large chunk of the back end of this season.
'It's a great challenge, we're embracing that and we can't wait.'
West Coast are looking to rebound from a disappointing 49-point defeat to 17th-placed Richmond last weekend in what many viewed as their best chance to get a second win this season.
Despite the loss, McQualter made only two changes at the selection table, dropping forward Jack Williams and sub Jack Petruccelle in favour of the returning Elijah Hewett and second-year utility Archer Reid.
McQualter defended the lack of moves at the selection table, saying they didn't play too bad for three quarters despite a third-term dismantling when the Tigers kicked eight goals to one.
'Ultimately you look at last week's game, three of the quarters were OK, one quarter was really poor,' he said.
'The WAFL (team) didn't have a game last week which is sometimes good for the WAFL players and sometimes not great.
'There's some things from our players that we're seeing some development but we need some more consistency clearly.'
The loss of Williams means the Eagles will play young key forwards Reid and Jobe Shanahan in attack for the first time. The pair have played a combined 15 games and kicked nine goals in their fledgling careers.
It comes as they continue to deal with season-ending injuries to co-captain Oscar Allen (calf and knee) and 2024 All-Australian Jake Waterman.
'It's a huge challenge. Key forward — not that I played it — but I assume it's one of the most difficult positions on the ground,' McQualter said.
'We've got two seriously young players but we think there's enormous upside with the way they go about their football.
'I think it's the first time they've played together in the forward line. When Jobe was playing WAFL, he was playing down back so there might be chemistry that takes a bit of time but it's exciting for our fans.'
Meanwhile, West Coast are awaiting news on the severity of an ankle injury to top draftee Bo Allan after he went down at training on Thursday.
Allan was caught in a tackle during a session at Mineral Resources Park and was carried off the field with a left ankle injury.
'We're still gathering a little bit of the information but he's certainly not going to play football this weekend,' McQualter said.
'And then we'll work out whether it's a long-term injury or whatever it is but it's unfortunate for the young fella.
'He's had a tough year this year, he's had a coupe of different injuries and lacked a bit of continuity so it's a bit of a shame.'
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"When you choose to wear the green and gold, you should draw strength from knowing that the whole nation is with you," he told parliament. "Yet the returning athletes were met only by cold silence or cruel comments. "Today, we fix that... you have earned your place in the history of the game and our nation." While Mr Albanese's address was met with emotion, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley struck a different chord. Though she acknowledged the athletes in the chamber and said they should not have been subject to personal attacks, she also gave credit to those who abided by the boycott including sprinter Raelene Boyle and swimmer Tracey Wickham. "For many Afghan Australians who immigrated here and are now part of our Australian family ... this boycott mattered," she told the House of Representatives. "The decision made by prime minister Malcolm Fraser to support the US-led boycott was the right one - and history has judged it so. 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The decathlon competitor was one of 121 members of Australia's Olympic team who defied calls to boycott the 1980 Games despite immense public pressure following the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Mr Hadfield had previously won the Australian championship in 1976 but was not selected for that year's Olympics in Montreal. "When the boycott was called in 1980, it looked like I was going to miss out on my second Olympics in a row," he told AAP. "I was offered a bribe of almost my entire yearly salary not to go. "There was death threats, we were called 'traitors' in the media, family members were spat on." Michelle Ford was just 17 when she won one of Australia's two gold medals at the Moscow Olympics. "We were told to sneak out of the country in case of threats on our team, on our lives - it's quite hard for a teenager to take that," the former swimmer told AAP. "I wasn't even voting age." 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