West Coast veteran Adam Selwood has spoken candidly about the club's off-field woes last decade, saying he always had faith the Eagles would be able to clean up their act and re-establish themselves as an AFL force.

Selwood briefly entertained the thought of leaving the Eagles in 2008 after the club had been put on a 12-month probation following a litany of indiscretions from former skipper Ben Cousins and his then-teammates.

But the 27-year-old eventually decided to stick with the club, signing a three-year extension midway through the 2008 season.

However, with the threat of sanctions still hanging over the Eagles at the time, Selwood took the unusual step of having a special 'get-out' clause inserted into the new deal, allowing him to be released from the contract if the club was punished again for any more misadventures.

West Coast implemented a series of programs to address their off-field issues and the moves paid off handsomely, with the club and its players now considered to have one of the best cleanskin cultures in the competition.

And after the lean on-field results between 2008-2010, the Eagles' premiership window has again re-opened, with last year's wooden spooners in the hunt for a top-four finish in 2011.

Selwood, who will notch his 150-game milestone in Saturday's clash with the Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium, said although last decade's off-field woes were tough to deal with at the time, he insisted there were only a few bad apples that cast a dark shadow over the whole player group.

"I sort of knew deep down that there were only a couple of blokes that were really stuffing up time and time again," Selwood told Perth radio station 6PR.

"Everyone spoke about a West Coast culture problem and what not, and I knew that wasn't the case.

"But it got to a point where you had to stand up a little bit and say 'well, do I really want to be remembered as part of a team that's had a culture issue throughout my whole career?'

"I obviously gave the club another chance because I love being involved with the club and it's dear to my heart.

"But I also gave myself the opportunity that if it kept going down the same path, then I was able to re-consider my position."

Meanwhile, Eagles forward Josh Kennedy is still recovering in hospital after copping a tennis ball to the eye during reflex and touch work at training on Thursday.

Kennedy and ruckman Nic Naitanui (soreness) were the two big omissions for the fifth-placed Eagles, paving the way for 202cm Scott Lycett to make his debut and Tom Swift to return to the side.

The Bulldogs lost Adam Cooney (knee), Shaun Higgins (knee) and Nathan Djerrkura (Achilles tendon) to injury, while Lindsay Gilbee, Jarrad Grant, Lukas Markovic and Dylan Addison were all dropped.

Justin Sherman was recalled after serving his four-week ban for racial abuse, while Robert Murphy, Ed Barlow, Brennan Stack, James Mulligan, Jordan Roughead and Ryan Hargrave also return.

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