Losing doesn't sit well with West Coast but, under the circumstances of another extraordinary run of injuries, coach Adam Simpson was proud of his team's effort in a 40-point defeat to Port Adelaide on Saturday.

Despite a significant chunk of the squad being unavailable, the Eagles flew east optimistic they could challenge the Power and were right in the contest for three quarters.

However, for the second week in a row, a disappointing second term proved costly as the home team piled on six goals to one to blow the match open.

West Coast fought back after the long break, despite losing skipper Luke Shuey (ankle), and equalled Port Adelaide’s seven majors for the second half to keep the scoreboard respectable.

“We went in pretty positive that we could perform well and we didn’t in the second quarter – I think it was six goals to one – the rest of the quarters were probably break even I would have thought - they might have tipped us over in a couple of stats but not by a lot,” Simpson said post-match.

“We don’t want to accept the loss but there’s also a reality with what we’re dealing with.

“We’re just seeing growth and some real positive signs in some areas of our game and individuals, which we’re really proud about, but we want to win.

“Getting that is hard at the moment with what we’ve got. I think they’re trying. The effort is there and we’re trying to play a way that keeps the scoreboard ticking over while we can defend.

“We’re probably not getting that right all the time, but there were stages today we thought we had the game in our hands to a certain degree and there were times when it slipped away, pretty obviously the second quarter.”

There were positives in the form of ruck Bailey Williams, who shrugged off a hamstring concern to produce his best game for the club, finishing with 21 disposals, 37 hit-outs and a mammoth 13 clearances to continue his growth in Nic Naitanui’s absence.

Inside midfielder Jai Culley also bobbed up in attack, overcoming a bump from Tom Jonas to kick four goals in his first attempt at playing as a key forward.

“He’s a midfielder but we don’t have any forwards available at the moment so we’ve got a couple of mids pushing forward. He’s 194cm and he can take a grab,” Simpson said.

“He’s trained that role briefly in pre-season as his second role as a key position forward and he got a look today at ground level.

“We’re really pleased for him that he’s found a little niche there. He keeps his spot in the side and gives us a good look.”

In midfield, experienced stars Tim Kelly (34 disposals, eight clearances) and Andrew Gaff (32, four) stood tall, while vice-captain Tom Barrass (10 marks) fought hard.

Asked how the group was staying united through difficult times, Simpson praised the influence of the club’s leaders on the playing group.

“The leaders, obviously, but there’s not many leaders out there at the moment in terms of official leaders,” Simpson said.

“Culturally we’re in a good space. We’re really clear about what we want to do and how we want to go about it. We’ve set up all our programs around it and unfortunately we’ve just hit a cluster of injuries again.

“I think our leaders in general have filtered it down to the rest of the playing group that we might not be there right now but keep fighting, keep chasing and it will turn one day.

“It’s frustrating but we’re seeing little signs.”

The Eagles are unlikely to regain many players for Saturday night’s clash against Carlton at Optus Stadium, although Simpson hoped Shannon Hurn would be available.

Shuey will have scans on the ankle he rolled in the opening term and continued to try to play on before being subbed out in the third quarter.

“(Shuey) went off, got it checked out, came back on and then it was too sore,” Simpson said.

“We thought Jai might be subbed out but he was fine and he was a good contributor.”