West Coast coach Adam Simpson believes his team's slow starts might be the reason behind their sluggish finishes.
The Eagles sit 4-4 heading into Saturday's AFL clash with Collingwood at the MCG, but it could have easily been 6-2 had they been able to finish off games against Carlton and Port Adelaide.
West Coast led Carlton by 24 points midway through the final quarter before losing by three.
And a week earlier against Port Adelaide, the Eagles led by 10 points late in the third quarter before being blown away in the final term.
In each of those games, West Coast were forced to claw their way back after making a poor start.
Simpson believes the energy expelled during those comebacks was a major reason behind the eventual fades.
"I find that when we're not in that zone to start with, we spend so much time trying to get back on track that we get halfway through that third and towards the last and we drop away," Simpson told Perth radio station 6PR.
Simpson will be extra wary of the issue this week following the club's bye.
Teams have a history of struggling to regain peak form straight after a bye, and Simpson knows his outfit can't afford another sluggish start against a Collingwood outfit desperate to bounce back from last week's upset loss to Adelaide.
With star sharpshooter Mark LeCras suspended, Simpson is weighing up whether to include an extra tall, or go with another goalsneak option like Josh Hill.
West Coast gained some valuable confidence before their bye after smashing Greater Western Sydney by 111 points.
The Eagles booted 30.8 in that game, with spearhead Josh Kennedy the clear standout with 11 goals.
West Coast had struggled for goalkicking accuracy in the lead-up to that game, but Simpson hopes the issue has been rectified.
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