FALCONS TO HAVE TOUGH SELECTION CALLS IN LEAD UP TO FINALS

WEST Perth coach Bill Monaghan will carefully monitor the workload of his players with the potential of eight straight games leading into the finals, and then possibly not another break until the season is over depending on what happens come September.

However, he will also have some selection dilemmas over the last two games of the home and away season starting this Saturday at Fremantle Oval against South Fremantle and then finishing at HBF Arena in the last round against Claremont.

Co-captain Luke Tedesco along with key players Kris Shannon, Nick Rodda, Laine Rasmussen and Mitch van Berlo will all be pressing for selection on return from injury either this week or next while some others are banging down the door based on their reserves form.

Brayden Antonio, Hayden Yarran, Callum Papertalk, Dean Munns, Marci Crisp, James Batterham and Broderick Walton are among those, and even Clint Hinchcliffe in the colts is knocking the door down for a potential league debut.

Monaghan knows that selection now for the rest of the season won't be easy, but it's a good problem to have with so many players in form, and then another five all set to return from injury.

"We knew it was going to be a tough day at the office and they were going to throw everything at us, but we still think there is a little bit upside in us. Rodda, Rasmussen, Tedesco and Shannon, as a coach I'm pretty confident they are in our best 22, and there's a couple of others like Mitch van Berlo who could easily in our best 22 as well who aren’t in the side at the moment," Monaghan said.

"We've been able to cover that pretty well to play at that level and to be challenged by a very good Swan Districts side. To be able to stand up to their pressure can't hurt us going into the finals and it was good to finish a game with 22 pretty much fit blokes for one of the first times in the year. 

"I am pretty happy with where we are at with our squad and selection is going to be pretty late over the next few weeks because at least those four will press for this week, or the week after at the latest."

Another bonus for West Perth has been the return of 2013 premiership star Rohan Kerr who was initially thought to be finished for the season if he underwent back surgery.

However, he has now delayed that operation until after the season and based on his significant impact to last Saturday's win over Swan Districts with his use of the ball by foot outstanding, Monaghan is confident it's a gamble that will pay off.

"We were rapt to have him back this week and he hadn’t trained for almost six weeks, and then he miraculously rocked up to training one day and he said he was right to go. We took the punt and we are willing to take that punt nearly purely based on his ball use," he said.

"You would think on what he's showed that there's no reason that he can't. Pre-existing injuries are something you have to take a bit of a punt on sometimes. We know what the risks are in playing Rohan Kerr and they are really minimal, otherwise we wouldn’t be playing him.

"You never know what will happen, but fit people can get injured and sometimes you have a sore right shoulder and you hurt your left shoulder. It's something we have talked about but really we will know what we are prepared to risk and not risk, but based on this week the risk is well worth it."

With West Perth having eight straight games from the last bye to the end of Round 23, and then the possibility of four finals if they end up making the grand final and having to play every weekend, Monaghan does admit they might need to carefully manage the group the next couple of weeks. 

"Team selection around fixturing at WAFL level is always a challenge because you get three general byes and the state game bye, and we can't control when they are. This year we've got an eight-game run into the finals and then there's the potential to play four more finals if it ends up on grand final day," Monaghan said.

"That's potentially a 12-week run so through our S & C staff, and coaching staff we are mindful of that hence why last week we took the conservative approach with Nelson and even Rodda even though he didn’t play again this week. He probably could have played if we needed him to.

"Are there a few more players in that boat? Probably but I would dare say that the 22 players we put out there on the park any given week will be trying to win a game of football. That's all we can do and I think if you don’t have that mindset that whoever plays has to perform at a certain level then it's fraught with danger. Will we play everyone who's available in our best 22 in the next week or two? I can't guarantee that we will but we'll be trying to win both games."