West Coast coach Adam Simpson remains hopeful that skipper Luke Shuey has escaped serious damage to his calf and it was merely a precautionary measure to sub the midfielder off against Adelaide on Sunday. 

Shuey hurt his calf during the third quarter of the Eagles' 42-point road victory against the Crows and was later seen icing the affected area on the bench.

The 31-year-old has already missed a large chunk of the season with a hamstring issue, but has recently returned to make four consecutive appearances.

"He (Shuey) has got calf awareness and we just didn't want to take a risk," Simpson said after the win.

"At this stage we don't know (the severity). It could be nothing and we are holding out hope (of that).

"It is definitely minor but because of his history we didn't want to take a risk ... I can't tell you what is going to happen.

"He was aware of it and maybe he is over-sensitive and maybe he is not, so we will just hope for the best."

Shuey's latest issue was the only downer to come from a dominant second-half display in Adelaide as the Eagles won for the first time in a month to regain their place inside the top eight.

Forwards Jamie Cripps (five) and Liam Ryan (three) combined for eight goals, with the duo stepping up in the absence of Josh Kennedy after the spearhead was a late withdrawal with a calf problem.

Kennedy will be assessed ahead of next week's crucial home clash against St Kilda and Simpson is hopeful that his side can build on the performance against the Crows.

"I think our best is good enough for anyone, but our worst is as bad as anyone," an honest Simpson said.

"There is an opportunity for growth over the next five weeks no matter what.

"We will keep exploring our list and our younger players and trying to get our best players to play well.

"But we are in the eight, so we need to have a swing as well."