SMILING assassin Luke Shuey couldn't help chuckling to himself at the incredible situation as he lined up his after-the-siren shot to snatch an epic elimination final victory over Port Adelaide.

After four gut-busting quarters and two periods of extra time, it all came down to Shuey's boot at Adelaide Oval and the West Coast star split the middle with the biggest kick of his career.

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"I had a think about the whole situation to be honest, going to overtime and having to kick after the siren – I couldn't help but laugh and have a little smile about the situation," Shuey said.

"I guess I was trying to relax myself a little bit."

Blocking out his utter exhaustion, Shuey calmly went through his goalkicking routine and sent the Eagles into a semi-final showdown against the Giants.

"My head was pretty clear," Shuey said.

"I obviously knew the situation but I've watched on over the last few years and seen guys have shots after the siren and always wondered what it would be like.

"But it's a bit different when you're in the moment, you're actually surprisingly pretty calm."

The AFL has ticked off the high contact free kick paid to Shuey after Jared Polec's tackle slipped high in the frantic final seconds, and the Eagles midfielder didn't have an opinion on the decision.

"It's irrelevant to us now, we move on and focus on next week," he said.

The bleary-eyed Eagles arrived back in Perth at midday on Sunday and will have only three full days at home before boarding the plane to Sydney on Thursday.

Shuey can't remember the last time he felt as exhausted after a match, and West Coast's number one priority this week will be recovery.

"It's amazing what that extra 10 minutes, how much it takes out of you, but we're pumped to get the result," he said.

"It's an interesting situation (travelling again so soon) but I suppose the price we pay of having an average home-and-away season is we finished eighth and you're on the road the whole time in finals.

"We'll move on. We'll turn up tomorrow, review the game, recover and I think we'll train Tuesday and Wednesday and back on the plane before we know it."

Five things we learned from Port Adelaide v West Coast

Shuey hailed the influence of retiring "Benjamin Button" veteran Drew Petrie against the Power and praised Lewis Jetta's instrumental clearance work during extra time.

He also made special mention of unsung hero Eric Mackenzie, who slammed into the behind post to prevent a score in the dying stages of the final term and forced extra time.

"It certainly got the accolades behind closed doors," Shuey said. "He's back to playing his best footy, big Ezy."

Nobody celebrated the unforgettable victory harder than Nic Naitanui back in Perth, who has offered to carry Shuey's bags this week.

"He carried on a bit the big fella, didn't he? I think he enjoyed it," Shuey said with a laugh.

Attention will inevitably turn to whether Naitanui could make a stunning return from his knee reconstruction against the Giants, although his chances appear slim.

"I hope so. It's not up to me, unfortunately," Shuey said.

"But as you've heard from the footy club before it's a massive risk with a guy who is 115kg or whatever he is coming back from an ACL and he's had some soreness.

"It's a big risk, but we'll see."