West Coast coach Adam Simpson was frustrated by the gap between his team's best and worst football against Geelong as the Eagles went down by 47 points at Adelaide Oval in Gather Round.
Having conceded nine of the 10 goals kicked in the second quarter, the Eagles found themselves 77 points in arrears early in the third stanza before enjoying good periods after half-time.
"There's a resilience piece with our players that you can clearly see, but that doesn't excuse the position we put ourselves in," Simpson said.
"They went to a level we couldn't keep up with. I think that's a fair assessment, and we need to find ways to get back in the game and break even and not just concede and concede.
"The last two weeks have been a real challenge with the two teams we've played.
"But of the eight quarters of footy, there were three or four where we walk away thinking there's some things there we can use going forward, and three or four quarters that weren't good enough."
The Eagles took positives from the form of key forwards Oscar Allen and Jake Waterman, who both kicked four goals, in a promising sign for their future pairing alongside Jack Darling.
Half-back Jamaine Jones also impressed with 25 disposals and 485 metres gained, alongside emerging leader Liam Duggan (23 and eight marks), while star midfielder Tim Kelly lifted after half-time to finish with 22 touches and 11 tackles.
Premiership midfielder Elliot Yeo was thrown into the midfield for periods after starting in defence but finished the match sore and will need to be assessed.
Young midfielder Reuben Ginbey copped a poke in the eye but was able to return to the field before being substituted out of the game to manage his workload after a strong start to his debut season.
Simpson confirmed fellow draftee Elijah Hewett would require scans to assess an ankle injury, which was suffered in the WAFL on Saturday, with captain Luke Shuey a chance to return from injury against Port Adelaide next Saturday.
Veteran defender Shannon Hurn should return for the Power clash after being managed for Gather Round.
