WEST Coast youngster Luke Shuey says Saturday night's semi-final loss to Collingwood was an opportunity to learn from the best onball division in the game.

Shuey, 20, formed part of a young Eagles midfield in the 24-point loss to the reigning premiers and spent time on Norm Smith Medallist Scott Pendlebury.

The highly-rated youngster, who is aiming to shake the injuries that have dogged him and establish himself in the Eagles' best side, said he soaked up the experience of playing on the competition's best.

"I thought we took it right up to guys like Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury for three quarters, but in the end their experience, and being the best midfield in the competition, saw them to run over us late," Shuey told afl.com.au after the match. 

"You're always going to realise the good things they're doing and you've just got to learn from it.

"I played on Scott Pendlebury for a bit and he's a very classy player.

"I learnt a lot off him and I'm hoping to play on a lot more great midfielders in the not too distant future and hopefully take a bit out of their games and put it into mine."

Shuey, whose two seasons at West Coast have been littered with injuries, suffered a minor interruption this summer with a fractured finger.   

The classy ball-user played his first full game on Saturday night after being used for a half against Gold Coast last week and said the ground time would be beneficial two weeks out from round one.  

"I've been able to get through the pre-season unscathed for most of it, so it's good to get through and play a couple of games," he said.

"I was back running four days later (after the finger injury), so it had very little impact.

"Last week against Gold Coast I was a bit rusty, but that's what pre-season's for. We still have one more game to go, so I'll look to polish up before round one."

Shuey's class has been obvious in his brief return to the Eagles line-up and he was among his side's best on Saturday night with five clearances and a goal from his 14 possessions.

"I certainly blew out a few cobwebs tonight and I think one of the most important things is getting used to the physicality in the pre-season," he said.

"I'm hoping to get 20-plus games, given [no] injuries this year.

"That's the ideal situation, so hopefully I can do that and take a big step forward. There's still plenty of areas to work on."

Coach John Worsfold said Shuey was progressing as the club had hoped this pre-season.   

"He kicked a really good goal for us in that third quarter and it was a good hit-out for him," the coach said.

"He was cramping a bit, which we understand. We'll slowly keep building up his ground time."