Amidst the chaos leading into West Coast’s semi-final earlier this year, Eagles speedster Jack Petruccelle was making a dash of a different kind to answer his club’s SOS.

The 20-year-old was flown to Melbourne less than 48 hours before the Eagles’ semifinal against Geelong to replace teammate Willie Rioli, who was provisionally suspended by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority for an alleged urine substitution violation.

Not originally in the travelling party, Petruccelle got the call on the Wednesday night before the Friday final to head east as the team tried to stay focused on the task at hand despite the club making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Petruccelle, who kicked 21 goals from 20 games in 2019, said it was a “crazy” 24 hours leading into the game.

“It was my first final, it was very exciting as well as I was very nervous,” he said.

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Camera Icon Josh Kennedy of the Eagles celebrates after scoring his 600th career goal. Credit: AFL Photos

“A bit of a different preparation to usual. Overall I was pretty excited to get the opportunity.

“I knew I was a 50 per cent chance of playing, so I had to be prepared.

“You have to try to keep your preparation the same. I hung out with the boys the day before the game like I do usually. We tried to keep our normal routine.”

Rioli is unlikely to play in 2020, leaving a spot in the Eagles’ star-studded forward line up for grabs.

But Petruccelle does not believe it his role to fill the shoes of the premiership forward and instead that responsibility lied with the entire forwards group.

“I got plenty of opportunity with Willie in the side last year which was good and hopefully I can bring that into this year as well,” he said.

“There is plenty of improvement for all of us. There is a few of us that will be able to stand up in his absence, not just myself.

“I think it will be a team effort with all us small forwards.”

Petruccelle said he was keeping things simple before the Christmas break.

“It is the same focus as last year,” he said.

“I was quite happy with my pre-season last year, so hopefully I can get into the same groove.”

Known for his blistering pace, Petruccelle said he was hoping to add a bit more speed before round one.

“I am always looking to get quicker, there is no baseline,” he said.

“Hopefully I have added to that with the work I have done this pre-season.”