WEST Coast full-forward Josh Kennedy is doubtful to face Fremantle next Sunday, coach Adam Simpson says.

In the wake of his side's 40-point loss to North Melbourne in Hobart, Simpson told reporters he was less than confident about the chances of his star forward featuring in the Western Derby after he failed to travel to Hobart to face the Kangaroos.

"I think doubtful on 'JK'," Simpson said when asked if Kennedy was likely to overcome the 'general soreness' that saw him miss Sunday's defeat.

"We've won without 'JK' before, so that's what we've got to work through at the moment.

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"We'll have a full report on where he's at on Monday, but at the moment we'll review this game and get better."

Beaten convincingly through the middle of the ground, the Eagles struggled to gain control of the contest at any stage and were clearly outpointed by the Kangaroos in a one-sided second half.

"It's a bit of a mirror test for the boys and the coaching group as well," Simpson said.

"I think we have got to give a lot of credit to North, and we anticipated a game like this (but) we couldn't match them in most areas of the ground.

"Weight of numbers, the collective of the Kangas were just too strong for us."

While a top-two spot at the end of the home-and-away season is still a very real prospect for West Coast, Sunday's loss to North saw the Eagles miss a chance to go two games clear of third-placed Collingwood, but Simpson wasn't willing to speculate on how the defeat impacted their finals aspirations.

"Every game is an opportunity. Every loss is a lost opportunity," he said. "We're all playing for a fair bit at the moment, so that was disappointing.

"(But) what's at stake, every week, it feels the same going into every week, every game."

In better news on the personnel front, Simpson indicated that influential midfielder Luke Shuey was likely to return in time to face the Dockers, while Lewis Jetta may also come into calculations.

"Shuey was for personal reasons so hopefully – more than hopefully – he'll be available next week, and hopefully Lewis Jetta will be available as well," Simpson said.

Regardless of exactly who's available for round 21 selection, Simpson will be looking for a strong response against Freo and a return to the "tough brand" he's trying to foster at the club.

"It was one of those games where we never really looked like we were up for the fight which is unlike us at the moment," he said.

"We're trying to play a really tough brand … so you've got to rely on the contest, getting some field position, especially on a smaller ground like this and we didn't do that today.

"Across the board we didn't have too many winners."