West Coast coach Adam Simpson says he's reluctant to switch Oscar Allen or Jack Darling to defence in his bid to stop North Melbourne forward Nick Larkey in Sunday's wooden spoon showdown.
The absence of Jeremy McGovern (concussion) and Tom Barrass (back) last week was heavily felt as Carlton forward Charlie Curnow ran rampant with 10 goals in a 71-point romp for the Blues.
Second-year defender Brady Hough had four goals kicked on him in the opening quarter, forcing Simpson to take Allen out of attack to play on Curnow.
With Barrass set to miss the rest of the season and McGovern still experiencing concussion symptoms, Simpson faces a big headache on how to stop Larkey at Optus Stadium.
Larkey has booted six goals in each of his past two games against West Coast, with his tally for the year standing at an impressive 48.15 for a team sitting second last on the ladder.
If Simpson keeps Allen and Darling up forward, it leaves undersized duo Shannon Hurn and Hough - or 19-year-old Rhett Bazzo - as the options most likely to take on Larkey.
"We don't want to do that, do we," Simpson said of using Allen in defence again.
"But Oscar is willing to do anything for the team. So if we have to do it, we have to do it."
Both North Melbourne and West Coast are on 16-match losing streaks.
The Kangaroos sit a win and 17.7 per cent above West Coast on the ladder.
A win for North Melbourne at Optus Stadium will ensure they avoid finishing last, but a loss would bring the wooden spoon battle down to the wire.
Simpson, who is contracted until the end of 2025, is under huge pressure to keep his job after guiding the side to just three wins from their past 44 matches.
But the 2018 premiership coach is adamant the club's rebuild can happen quickly via the draft and trades.
"There's often seven to 10 changes on the list every year," he said.
"So give us two years and half your list has almost changed. So it does happen pretty quick."
North Melbourne veteran Jack Ziebell has announced he will retire at season's end, with the former skipper to play as the tactical sub against West Coast.
Simpson, who played 306 games for North Melbourne before handing over his No.7 jersey to Ziebell when he retired in 2009, always knew the midfielder was destined for big things.
"I saw something in him the first day he got to the club," Simpson said.
"He was 17, 18 and playing like a man. He's had a fantastic career, and I'm really proud of what he's done."
