West Coast have hit shuffle on their backline against Essendon to cover Zoe Wakfer, who will miss Friday’s clash at Windy Hill with concussion.

However, the injury has opened the door for a special return with midfielder Courtney Rowley named to make a return, a week less than 12 months on from the incident, after recovering from her second serious ACL rupture.

Wakfer has been at the core of the Eagles’ defence this season, and while coach Daisy Pearce revealed she had recovered well from the blow in the win over St Kilda, she will miss a minimum of a week.

“Thankfully, she bounced out of it pretty quickly, but we know with these things it just takes time,” she said.

“So, we’ll give her all the time she needs and make sure she’s right to come back in. We’ll miss her; she’s been incredible this season.

“She’s been another one of our big improvers and really stabilised us behind the ball at times, so it will be a shame to see her go out.”

The Eagles have spent the week in Melbourne after playing the Saints on Sunday, and with a short turnaround against the Bombers, Pearce suggested the team would look to the current backline to cover the loss after Jess Rentsch’s recent return, as well as Beth Schilling now stringing games together.

“We’ll probably lean into Beth Shilling some more. She’s had some continuity in her game now,” Pearce said.

“Awesome to see Retschy come back into the line-up last week, and just the versatility she brings, we know we can always turn to her to play on those more key-position players if we need to.

“So she’ll absorb some time in there and fill a bit of a gap with Zoe going out.”

Shuffling the backline also allowed for former Peel Thunder product Rowley to make her return.

The young midfielder was left devastated after tearing her ACL late in the Eagles’ 2025 campaign and missing out on the club’s maiden AFLW final, especially considering she had already suffered the same injury in 2023.

The 22-year-old returned to running in mid-February and had a strong hitout in the team’s scrimmage last week.

“Courtney Rowley will be available this week, and we know she can play midfield and down back,” Pearce said.

“So, with growing health in our squad, it was cool to see Rowls play some footy last week in the scrimmage, and another good training session today should put her right in the fold.”