West Coast failed to lay a single tackle inside its forward 50 in its 72-point thrashing at the hands of St Kilda, much to the frustration of interim coach Jarrad Schofield.

Schofield said the undermanned Eagles – playing without injured senior figures Elliot Yeo, Liam Duggan, Jeremy McGovern and Jake Waterman – didn't hit a single internal benchmark set pre-game, while the Saints laid 23 tackles in their own attack.

"The numbers were really stacked against us early on. Even in the first 15 minutes of the game, trying to build the ball up from deep in our back half, there's always going to come a time when the dam wall is going to break," Schofield said.

"We probably got out of that one in the first quarter, kicking two or three by the end of it, but unfortunately today, all the things we planned for, we didn't execute. In the end, we're disappointed, especially with the second half.

"Our back six held up considering the ball was coming at times with a bit of freedom, I think they kicked five goals on return of serve. That was the disappointing thing, that the ball was coming back with interest, but the backs held in there. 

"Across the ground, defence of mids and forwards wasn't where it should be. We had some opportunities when we did go forward with the ball, to execute, and we didn't execute. But at the end of the day, I don't think we had a tackle in our forward 50, which isn't what we're chasing."

Schofield said the form of half-back flankers Reuben Ginbey and Jayden Hunt were a few bright sparks for the match, while Jack Williams kicked his second three-goal haul at AFL level.

"They're learning on the job. What we are learning is more about our list as well. There were opportunities given to players who warranted those opportunities, because they'd played some good footy in the WAFL, and we wanted to see that," he said.

"Reuben Ginbey, the last two weeks he's gone to half-back – we had to put him in the midfield (late) because we needed to change something – and I think what we've seen at half-back is that he's grown another leg. 

"He's got some run and carry, he's got a great vertical jump – sometimes he's jumping too high, and if he can just pluck a few of those balls, there's another five or six opportunities to impact the game.

"Probably the other one is Jayden Hunt, a guy who's played over 100 AFL games, and he probably had one of his best games in a long time."

Schofield said he was expecting Yeo (soreness) and Waterman (knee) to return next week to face Fremantle in the RAC Derby.