WEST Coast defender Xavier Ellis insists the Eagles don't have trouble running out games, but he admits they need to become more consistent when the heat is on.

In West Coast's five losses this season, it has been outscored in the final term by an average of 12 points.

The Eagles were made to pay dearly for a last-quarter fadeout on Saturday when their six-point lead at three-quarter time against Collingwood turned into an eight-point loss.

Ellis is confident that trend will soon turn around as the players became more accustomed to the game-plan of new coach Adam Simpson.

"It's not a fitness thing," Ellis said on Monday.

"We're still learning under ‘Simmo’.

"There are parts of the game-plan which we implement in different parts of quarters. We just make little errors occasionally.

"For three quarters we stuck to what the coach wanted. And then we just had a couple of little lapses in the last quarter, and Collingwood's great players stood up and ran away with it."

Although West Coast failed to snare the win against the Magpies, it was a significant step forward for the club after an inconsistent start to the year.

But Ellis said it was time to start churning out the wins.

"I don't think there's such a thing as an honourable loss," he said.

West Coast forward Mark LeCras will return from suspension for Sunday night's clash with North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.

And defender Elliot Yeo is set to play despite having parts of his two front teeth knocked out in the loss to Collingwood.

Yeo, who had his mouth guard tucked into his sock at the time, suffered the hit to the face after dropping a simple mark just seconds before the half-time siren.

"I think he had it in for the majority of the night and took it out for 30 seconds to have a breather," Ellis said.

"I don't think he'll do that again.

"He'll get them fixed up and work on his uncontested marking during the week."

Ellis, who made the switch from Hawthorn to West Coast at the end of last season, said he was enjoying his time in Perth.

The premiership wingman had a history of calf problems during his time at the Hawks, and he admitted he was a tad concerned when he suffered another calf tweak earlier this season.

But the setback was only minor, with Ellis missing just two games.