St Kilda spearhead Max King is a chance to return for his first game in 665 days, further stretching an undermanned West Coast defence in Sunday’s clash at Marvel Stadium.

And in another hammer blow to an already injury-hit West Coast, forward-ruck Archer Reid will be sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury suffered in Sunday’s western derby.

“Archer has come out of the game with some knee soreness and won’t be available to play in round seven,” West Coast high-performance manager Phil Merriman said.

“We are gathering more information on this, and timeframes will be determined at a later date.”

King has been sidelined with a knee injury since round 16, 2024, and has been listed as a test, with the Saints to make a call on the 202cm key-forward following main training later this week.

“Max has worked through a solid block of conditioning and contact training as he builds towards his return after missing a significant period of football,” general manager of football Lenny Hayes said.

“Throughout what’s been a challenging period, he’s shown strong resilience and commitment to getting his body back to where it needs to be.

“We’ll continue to lean on the advice of our high-performance team and won’t take any unnecessary risks, but he’s given himself every chance to be available this week.”

High-priced recruit Tom De Koning has also been listed as a test after suffering a cork in the Saints’ one-point loss to Adelaide last weekend.

“Tom pulled up with a cork to the back/hip which he’s been managing. He’ll need to get through training later this week, but we’re hopeful the eight-day break will work in his favour,” Hayes said.

King’s tall fame and aerial prowess will present another challenge for undersized 191cm Eagles’ defender Reuben Ginbey, who has been praised by his coach Andrew McQualter for his efforts on the last line against the competition’s elite forwards, including Josh Treacy in the derby last round.

West Coast backmen Tylar Young (196cm) and Sandy Brock (198cm) are other options if King passes the fitness test.

In positive news for the Eagles, key defender Harry Edwards is expected to pass through concussion protocols this week and has been listed as one to two weeks from a return.

“Once Harry has completed the protocols, we’ll start to spend a little more time exposing him to contact drills,” Merriman said.

Prize off-season backline recruit Brandon Starcevich says he’s “tracking well” to make his club debut with the Eagles across a series of seemingly winnable games leading into the club’s mid-season bye.

The Eagles are desperate to bolster their defence amid conceding 103 goals through the first six rounds of the season – eight more than bottom-placed Richmond as the league’s most porous backline.

Starcevich has had to watch from the sidelines as he works to overcome a troublesome calf issue, but said he was confident of being around a month away from being available.

Factoring in a potential cameo in the WAFL to build form and fitness, that timeline would put the off-season recruit in the frame for fixtures against Essendon, Port Adelaide and North Melbourne – all at Optus Stadium – heading into West Coast’s round 15 bye.

“Everything’s tracking well,” Starcevich said on 6PR.

“I’ve been able to get some decent running sessions in over the past couple of weeks, so I’m on track for that 4-5 week (return date) I think.

“So hopefully just before we break for the bye round… hopefully sneak in a couple (of games) before then.”

West Coast draftee Fred Rodriguez is set to play for the WAFL Eagles against Swan Districts on Sunday as he completes the final stages of his recovery from a foot injury.

“As long as Fred gets through training this week without any issues, he’ll be available for managed minutes,” Merriman said.

Sam Allen has been set for a return from a knee injury in six weeks as he enters a performance block.

Veteran midfielder Jack Graham will remain unavailable as the next phase of his shoulder rehabilitation is finalised, with surgery now scheduled.

“After allowing Jack’s shoulder to settle, we made the decision to repair his rotator cuff, with timeframes to be confirmed over the next two weeks,” Merriman said.

Tyler Brockman remains without a set return date as the club continues to manage his knee rehabilitation.

Midfielder Dev Robertson has already been ruled out for the remainder of the season after rupturing an ACL and is scheduled for surgery later this week, while Noah Long and Jacob Newton continue their respective knee and foot rehabilitations.

St Kilda trio Ryan Byrnes (foot), Anthony Caminiti (hamstring) and Tobie Travaglia (foot) will also face tests.