West Coast coach Adam Simpson believes the Eagles have no option than to accept having players spending the weekend without playing football as part of their life on the road.

Ruckman Nathan Vardy and midfielder Xavier O’Neill both sat out of the WAFL on the weekend after travelling to Melbourne with the team for Saturday’s match against St Kilda.

Vardy and Isiah Winder were part of the original travelling party, while O’Neill answered a SOS to catch a different flight after Dom Sheed fell ill while in Victoria.

Sheed recovered to play and Winder made his debut as the medical sub before replacing Shannon Hurn (calf) during the first quarter.

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But with West Coast’s WAFL team playing at the same time as the Eagles faced the Saints, that meant neither Vardy or O’Neill got the opportunity to play at any level.

Simpson said there was no way around the problem.

“When you travel, you’ve got to take two (extras) now,” he said.

“If you have a pre-game injury you don’t want to lose your sub. That’s probably the ripple effect of having your sub. Every team that travel will have to go through that.”

Vardy kicked four goals in the opening round of the WAFL the previous week while O’Neill collected 31 disposals.

Winder forced his way into the AFL by kicking five goals in an electric display.

An undermanned West Coast lost to West Perth by 78 points on Saturday. Brayden Ainsworth won 36 possessions and Alex Witherden finished with 26 touches across half-back.

The VFL starts this week and matches have been scheduled with a view to making selection easier for the travelling teams.

Matches between the Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast in Victoria and Brisbane’s game against Essendon in Queensland will see both the AFL and VFL teams playing in the same states at times that don’t clash.