AFL premiership hero Dom Sheed concedes West Coast left too much up to too few in their upset loss to Sydney at the SCG.
The Eagles suffered a humbling 45-point loss last Sunday, with the upset serving as a wake-up call at the halfway point of their premiership defence.
The reigning premiers, who have their mid-season bye this weekend, are currently in the top four but the gap between their best and worst will concern coach Adam Simpson.
All four of West Coast's defeats in 2019 have been decided by a margin of at least seven goals.
The Eagles' loss at the SCG came after one of their most polished performances of the year, a 61-point demolition of the Western Bulldogs.
"We left it up to too few," Sheed told AAP.
"We've played some bad footy and good footy this year. We're 8-4. You'd probably take 8-4 going into the bye (at the start of the year) but the loss to Sydney was disappointing.
"It'd be nice to narrow that gap between our best and worst footy a bit."
Sheed admitted his team missed club champion Elliot Yeo and captain Shannon Hurn, who were both enforced omissions.
"They're two stars of the game. Hopefully they come straight back in after the bye, along with a couple of other boys," he said.
Defender Tom Barrass and ruckman Nic Naitanui are also close to returning from injury.
Sheed, who slotted the clutch match-winning goal in last year's grand final, was among the Eagles' best on Sunday.
The midfielder had 26 possessions, with 10 of them contested.
Lance Franklin booted five goals in the rout, with many commentators criticising Eagles defender Jeremy McGovern for giving his opponent so much space.
Sheed echoed the words of coach Adam Simpson, who noted his defenders' colours were lowered but the same could be said of the Eagles' forwards and midfielders.
"There probably wasn't enough pressure on the footy, so Buddy got those opportunities," Sheed said.
"We got beaten up at the contest.
"Gov (McGovern) will review the game. We, as a midfield group, will review the game.
"It's a disappointing result . We've got four days off then we've got to really attack the second half of the year ... the byes probably come at a good time for us."
