Alex Silvagni has been confirmed as Luke McPharlin’s replacement in defence after the club finalised the 22 to take on West Coast in Sunday’s Carlton Mid Derby.

McPharlin is out with a calf injury that will sideline him for up to five weeks.

Silvagni has proven himself a reliable defender in the past, including an excellent effort to keep Geelong forward James Podsiadly goalless in last year’s Elimination Final at the MCG, a game McPharlin missed.

Defender Zac Dawson, who will likely partner Silvagni against Eagles' forwards Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling, said the absence of McPharlin would be noticeable in what has been a reasonably settled backline, but he was confident the side would cover the All Australian.

"We try pretty hard to build that chemistry when we are all together and it's very important to have the back six or seven in there consistently to try and build that chemistry," he said. 

"So to have Luke out for a couple of weeks is going to be hard, but we will fill the role, and once he gets back, we will get back into it."

The emergencies for the game against the Eagles will be Cam Sutcliffe, Lachie Neale and Matt Taberner.