JACK DARLING could return to boost West Coast in the wake of its disappointing 10-point loss to North Melbourne on Sunday. 

The key forward kicked five goals for East Perth in the WAFL on Saturday in his first match of the year after battling a foot injury throughout the pre-season. 

The Eagles could use his presence after squandering several opportunities in front of goal in blustery conditions against the Roos. 

"He’s strongly in the mix if he’s not sore," West Coast coach Adam Simpson said of the 22-year-old. "All reports are that he’s pulled up really well and he’s right to go. We’ll see how he trains."

As well as Darling’s looming return, Simpson suggested several players would soon return from injury and that the club’s list health was slowly improving after a horror start to the season with injuries to key players.

But that did not mean Simpson would be looking to make wholesale changes following Sunday’s loss, where the Eagles failed to capitalise on a strong wind behind them in the final term. 

Simpson was forced to deny his players entered the last quarter expecting to coast to a win on the back of the breeze, suggesting they’d been beaten by a more desperate North side.

"I don’t know if we took our foot of the pedal, but they made the most of the opportunities, I think there was a 50m penalty in there somewhere, and kicked three goals in two minutes and the first in the last and that was probably the game in the end,” Simpson said. 

"We had plenty of supply, both teams had tactics for and against the wind and probably nullified each other there and then in the last quarter we just didn’t win the hunt when we needed to.

"I thought we got done out of the middle and it looked like North were just a little more desperate.

"They got a couple of goals through good pressure and we were just a bit off with our fumbles and contested ball when it mattered.

"The game see-sawed all day and when the crunch was really there we probably didn’t take our opportunities."

Given the Eagles’ impressive 7-3 start to the season, Simpson said he wouldn’t dwell on the loss to North Melbourne and that the focus would soon turn to next week’s clash with Essendon.

"We’ve got a six-day break into the Bombers so we’ll move on pretty quickly,” Simpson said. 

“[Today’s] effort, for the most part, we came with the right attitude. It’s not panic stations. It’s not about playing yourself in or out of the team today."