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West Coast coach John Worsfold says he doesn't want to see any of his players taking any undue risks.
West Coast coach John Worsfold wants Nic Naitanui to save his dazzling aerials for the football field, revealing the star AFL ruckman was counselled for his stunt dunk last week.
Naitanui copped criticism for putting himself at risk of injury after getting coaxed into performing a half-time slam dunk at a Perth Wildcats game.
The 21-year-old leapt above the on-court announcer before completing the dunk in an amazing display of athleticism that left even Worsfold impressed.
Although Worsfold wouldn't elaborate on whether Naitanui had been told off for the dunk, the two-times premiership coach said players had to be more careful about what they did off the field.
"It is a tough one. Where do you draw the line?" Worsfold said on Thursday.
"The boys play indoor cricket occasionally downstairs with a tennis ball.
"We saw Josh Kennedy got hit with a tennis ball (in the eye last year).
"The players are aware that if they are going to do other sporting activities outside of their profession, they need to check things off with the right people.
"It was something Nic didn't see much risk in it because I'm tipping he's done a couple before.
"So his assessment at the time was 'what's the possibility of being injured doing that - no possibility at all', and I back his judgement on that.
"But he has been counselled about how to prepare for being thrown those opportunities."
Naitanui, who underwent pectoral surgery over the summer, will play his first pre-season fixture of the year when he lines up against St Kilda in Saturday's clash at Patersons Stadium.
Matt Rosa (knee), Beau Waters (elbow), Sam Butler and Adam Selwood also make their returns, but Josh Kennedy (foot), Andrew Embley (shoulder) and Luke Shuey (ankle) have been given another week off to recover.
Eagles skipper Darren Glass, Shannon Hurn, Quinten Lynch, Andrew Gaff and Mitch Brown are other big names who will sit out.
In contrast, St Kilda have named a near full strength side after last week's game against Essendon failed to go ahead.
West Coast will reach the pre-season grand final with a win over St Kilda, but Worsfold said the focus remained on round one.
Perth is set to swelter through 39C on Saturday, putting the trial 'two and two' interchange rule to the test in a match that is scheduled to start at 5.10pm local time.
