West Coast defender Brad Sheppard says the team is keeping close tabs on Willie Rioli as the premiership forward's agonising wait to discover his football fate continues to drag on.
Rioli, who has been provisionally suspended for the past 17 months, is facing a ban of up to four years for alleged urine substitution during a routine anti-doping test.
The 25-year-old faced the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal in December but he is still waiting to hear the outcome.
The drawn-out process - firstly to get the hearing underway, and secondly to receive the outcome - has infuriated the football community, with one fan even starting a petition demanding Sport Integrity Australia (previously ASADA) ensure a verdict is handed down soon.
The petition has already attracted more than 2400 signatures.
West Coast coach Adam Simpson has previously expressed his concerns for Rioli's mental health during such a traumatic and drawn-out process.
Sheppard said the player group was supporting Rioli. "All the boys keep in contact with him," Sheppard said.
"Just keeping tabs to see how he's going and check up on him. He's a mate to a lot of the players here. Nothing really about footy, just how he's going.
"We all know it's been a pretty difficult time for him over the course of the last couple of years, so we just want to keep tabs and see how he's going."
"I think the whole footy world would like to find out either way what's going on, so hopefully that can happen pretty soon."
The Eagles will hold an intraclub clash on Friday, but star midfielder Elliot Yeo (osteitis pubis) will be among the notable omissions.
Yeo hasn't played since round 11 last year, and his hopes of being fit for round one are diminishing by the day.
Sheppard has been impressed by the pre-season form of 20-year-old key defender Harry Edwards, who lasted less than a half in his debut game last year.
"He's still dirty on me Harry, I unfortunately knocked him out in that second quarter so he doesn't remember much about his debut game," Sheppard said of Edwards, who has also been training up in the ruck during the pre-season.
"He's a great youngster coming through. I think he's grown three or four centimetres the last six months. He's still got a lot of development within himself.
"But you see the way he reads the game, he's going to be a pretty special player."