There were initial fears Vardy could miss between 12 to 16 weeks after the former Cat hyper-extended his elbow in a marking contest with Fremantle's Nat Fyfe.

Fraser McInnes, who has been ungraded from the rookie list this week, will travel to Adelaide as cover for Vardy.

He has been named as an emergency along with Mark Hutchings and young forward Malcolm Karpany.

???It's the first time this year the Eagles have named an unchanged side.

Vardy will still undergo a late fitness test in Adelaide on Saturday, but Eagles coach Adam Simpson was confident the big man would play.

"We'll give Vardy every chance to play, it's more about can he handle the pain, rather than the injury," Simpson told AFL.com.au

"So along with (Liam) Duggan, we'll take him over and test him late."

Simpson said the Eagles were looking for more consistency on the road, after getting thumped by the Hawks when West Coast last travelled east.

"It's the biggest test for us to get that consistency in our game and, regardless of where we play, that's what we're looking for," he said.

"Until we do that, I think there's always going to be question-marks about us, whether we travel or not, whether we play good sides or sides we potentially should beat.

"Until we get that right, we won't press for top four, and top eight is always going to be a challenge."

Port Adelaide have made one change, with captain Travis Boak (ankle) coming back into side at the expense of Karl Amon.

Meanwhile, Fremantle have named giant forward Matt Taberner in a forward pocket to boost their lack of fire power.

Nick Suban and Cameron Sutcliffe have also been included in the side to take on the Bombers at Domain Stadium on Saturday, but have been named on an extended interchange bench with Ethan Hughes, Darcy Tucker, Tommy Sheridan and Brady Grey.

Dockers coach Ross Lyon hinted earlier in the week both Taberner and Sutcliffe would play against Essendon.

"Cam was good, he's been playing midfield, wing and half-back," Lyon told the club's website.

"He's handled it quite well. We've got a couple in form (with Peel) to look at no doubt.

"(Taberner's) been knocking on the door quite loudly???it's been a really good period for him."

Dockers defender Garrick Ibbotson has backed his fellow backmen Joel Hamling to tackle Bombers giant Joe Daniher, despite the former Bulldog getting towelled up by Josh Kennedy last week in the Derby.

"Last week, (Joel Hamling) was isolated a little bit playing on Josh (Kennedy) who's a fantastic player," Ibbotson told the club's website.

"We obviously could have helped (Joel) a bit more where we could. We looked at the vision during the week on how we can do.