WEST Coast coach Adam Simpson believes it will be difficult to keep sidelined Eagles forward Willie Rioli on the "straight and narrow" due to the AFL's soft cap cuts.

Rioli's future at the club remains in the balance after he last week pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis at Darwin airport in April.

The premiership hero last played for West Coast in September 2019, having been suspended for two years for substituting his urine during an anti-doping drug test.

Rioli was due to resume training with the Eagles from June 20, but the club is considering axing the 25-year-old after his latest indiscretion.

Simpson, a vocal advocate against the AFL's $3.5 million cuts to football department spending, has warned players like Rioli might struggle to fulfil their talent in the future.

"Willie's a great example for us. We're working through Willie's situation, it's a really difficult process to get a good resolution," Simpson told SEN.

"But part of the conversation is we're 40 per cent cut back on resourcing, so how are we going to grow Willie and educate and keep him on the straight and narrow with less people?

"Then it ripples to the draft, what do you think we're going to do in the draft in the future?

"We want to take risk takers, they're our best players, but that comes with a lot of management.

"Not coaching but administration, welfare, health and wellbeing.

"At the moment, we're in the trenches and we're seeing significant change in health and wellbeing."

Simpson stressed it was not senior coaches that were struggling with the AFL's new normal but everyone around them.

He claimed quality administrators, physiotherapists and doctors would be lost to the game altogether.

"They're too good for AFL, the calibre of people we've employed," Simpson said.

"They're way more qualified to do other things and we're losing them... the product and the people are the two things we're (coaches) concerned about."

A decision on Rioli's future with West Coast could be made as soon as this week.