West Coast coach Adam Simpson saw signs of improvement in a five-goal loss to Brisbane but is throwing down the challenge to his players to sustain their effort across four quarters.

The Eagles headed into the long break four points ahead of the Lions but couldn’t match the home side’s intensity when the match was on the line.

It was a similar story in the 44-point defeat against Gold Coast the previous week, and with top-of-the-table Port Adelaide looming on Saturday they need to rediscover their mojo quickly.

“(We were) beaten by a better side on the weekend. Obviously we hung in there and battled pretty hard, but couldn’t sustain our effort for four quarters and they were too good in the end,” Simpson told Channel Seven.

“There’s some positive signs but clearly some areas we need to improve on. That’s our focus this week and that’s what we’ll continue to do.

“It looked like we were low on energy and our ability to sustain the pressure all night wasn’t there.

“The games we’ve played this year have been a lot about field position and the ability to keep it in your front half.

“You can’t finesse too much with it, you’ve just got to get it going your way and try to lock it in. Unfortunately, we just haven’t been able to do that.

“That’s been our priority. It was going into the game and we thought we held our own for a fair chunk of the game but we lost momentum in the third quarter and we couldn’t get it back.”

Simpson insisted the disappointing fade-outs aren’t a reflection of the players’ attitude to relocating to a hub at Royal Pines Resort for a month to restart the season.

There was uplifting news on Monday when the WA government announced a full house of fans would be allowed back into games at Optus Stadium from July 18 – and 30,000 from this weekend – but West Coast is still waiting on a return date.

“I don’t think they’re (the players) unhappy,” Simpson said.

“Obviously dealing with the circumstances in front of them, you’ve got to be pretty pragmatic on that.

“Trying to get the elevation of energy when it’s needed and when to step up during the game, they’re the critical things we’re looking for.

“But it’s a pretty good environment here, there’s no complaints on being here, it’s just ‘how long?’ that the boys have been asking. No excuses on that front.

“It’s great, great for the state (that fans can attend games in Perth). Just got to get some teams there now.

“Hopefully sooner rather than later, but that’s good news.”

Speaking on 6PR, Simpson revealed ex-Geelong small forward Jamaine Jones was in the mix to make his blue and gold debut against Port Adelaide.

“He’s a small, hard-working half-forward that sticks his head in the hole so he’s definitely in contention this week,” he said.

The Power ran are the only undefeated team in the competition after three rounds and have accounted for rivals Adelaide and Fremantle since the resumption.

“They’re number one at everything at the moment. They’ve started the season really well and obviously we haven’t,” Simpson said.

“The numbers look really dangerous so we’re fully aware how good they are and what they’ve brought. They’ve got that great balance at the moment of experience and youth, and the hunger is there as well.

“I had a good chat to the boys (Monday), we reviewed the game really well and they’re in a pretty good space considering we’ve lost a couple in a row.

“We understand it’s going to be a hell of a challenge this week, but we’re ready to go.”