West Coast coach Adam Simpson expects to regain some key players for the road trip to face Collingwood as the Eagles begin to see some light at the end of the player availability tunnel.

After using 38 players in the opening three rounds, Simpson hopes to start seeing some stability in the line-up in the coming weeks, with skipper Luke Shuey, Liam Duggan, Willie Rioli, Tom Barrass and Bailey Williams aiming to put their hands up for the Pies clash after isolating in Health and Safety Protocols.

Star midfielders Tim Kelly (hamstring) and Elliot Yeo (calf) won’t be far behind, before the likes of Jamie Cripps (pectoral) and Oscar Allen (foot) come into the selection frame.

Despite a 0-3 start to the campaign under trying circumstances, Simpson has been pleased to see the spirit, unity and growth amongst the squad.

“It’s only round three. We’re working on a style of play which we think it will take a bit of time to get into and just with the synergy of the players it’s been a difficult challenge,” Simpson told Channel Seven.

02:21

We weren't at our full strength: Simpson

The senior coach joins Channel 7 on Monday night to discuss the RAC derby outcome and the return from COVID

“We think in the next four or five weeks we should have a really good number of players back and it should look and feel like the side we’ve seen over the last few years.

“Hopefully (we’ve) grown through this period with some younger players putting their hand up.  

“Unfortunately, what we have discovered the last couple of weeks it’s not just the availability it’s the time away from the club and recovering from a significant illness (that has been challenging).

“Working through that is a new experience for us all. Our guys did their absolute best to get through it (in the RAC Derby) but obviously some weren’t at their full strength.”

The Eagles made 13 changes for the RAC Derby on Sunday and couldn’t sustain their effort against the Dockers across four quarters in a 55-point loss.

“Obviously we’re very disappointed. We went in with high hopes, but Freo too good on the day,” Simpson said.

“We are 0-3 with a few things going on around the club. Obviously 10 players coming back from COVID and playing 38 people in the first three weeks, that’s not normal.

“But we’d like to think we could play better than what we did on the weekend, so (we’re) finding that balance between what’s reality and also not accepting poor performance.”