The Eagles held a 23-point half-time lead over the Dons at Etihad Stadium, but ground to a shuddering halt after the break.

 

Essendon booted seven of the last eight goals to get its top eight aspirations back on track while dealing a savage blow to the Eagles' hopes of playing September.

 

The Bombers' comeback was an all-too familiar tale for West Coast in Melbourne this season.

 

It was the third time the Eagles stumbled to defeat after holding the whip-hand, as they did against Carlton in round six and Collingwood in round 10.

 

West Coast led the Blues by 24 points in the fourth quarter and held an 18-point advantage over the Pies in the third quarter.

 

"We've had a few games like that, we just haven't been able to tough it out for long enough and they have," Cripps told AFL.com.au.

 

"Once they get a run on we haven't been able to stop it, so it's something we need to work on and fix because we need those close games to make finals."

 

Cripps was one of the few Eagles who improved after half-time.

He booted two of his three majors in the third quarter and gathered 11 of his 14 touches after the main break.

 

The 22-year-old said the Eagles couldn't stop the slide to their 11th loss this season, even though they could feel the momentum shifting.

 

"Definitely, you definitely can (feel it). They just got the run on through the midfield and we just couldn't stop them," Cripps said.

 

"We have different methods to try to stop that. Plus-one on the backline, put someone behind the ball and try to slow the play down a little bit but we just couldn’t do it.

 

"We got a bit tired in the end. Our run stopped and that's when we go back to that long kicking down the line, which wasn't working for us."

 

The Eagles are still a mathematical chance of playing finals, although they are now relying on other results.

 

West Coast hosts Melbourne next weekend before travelling to the Gold Coast to play the Suns in round 23.

 

Twitter: @TravKing_AFL