WEST Coast's star-studded injury list is no excuse for the team's poor form and costly late fadeouts, star midfielder Dom Sheed says.
The Eagles coughed up a 29-point lead on the way to a shock 16-point loss to Essendon in Perth on Saturday night.
It was reminiscent of West Coast's 20-point loss to St Kilda in round four, when they led by 33 points in the third quarter before falling in a hole.
West Coast's second loss on the trot has left them clinging to seventh spot with a 6-5 record - two wins and 24 per cent adrift of fourth spot.
The Eagles entered last week's match without Jeremy McGovern (knee), Luke Shuey (hamstring), Alex Witherden (groin) and Liam Duggan (knee).
They were dealt further blows during the game when Tim Kelly (knee) and Oscar Allen (concussion) were ruled out in the first half.
Essendon won the inside 50m count 22-6 in the final quarter, despite the ruck dominance of Nic Naitanui.
Sheed said there were no excuses for the fadeout.
"I don't want to come in here and make injuries our excuse for losing, because as much as we do lack personnel at the moment, we play a system type of football," Sheed said.
"It doesn't matter who's playing that role, we expect them to do it to the best of their ability and get the job done.
"It would be nice to get some of our top-end players back, but that's not an excuse.
"We've had injuries all year. I've had opportunities to step up in the midfield. Some games I feel like I've done that, and others I haven't."
Sheed felt the team let the club's fans down during the loss to Essendon.
"The gut part of it is how bad do you want it. The stats don't look good in the last quarter, and we're working on that," Sheed said.
"I think our boys are hungry and we want to win. Maybe other teams just wanted it a little bit more than us.
"Where we are now (on the ladder) reflects the way we've been playing. We don't deserve to be any higher."
West Coast will be aiming to bounce back when it takes on Carlton this weekend, with the match set to be played at the SCG.
The Eagles have lost their past nine matches at the venue, with their last win there coming in 1999.
