West Coast coach John Worsfold believes the Eagles were the authors of their own demise in Saturday's loss - the club's 18th in succession away from Subiaco - to Melbourne at the MCG.

The Eagles had more possessions, more inside-50s and the same number of scoring shots as the Demons but failed to make it count in front of goal in going down by 20 points.

"We should have scored better than we did and scored more easily," Worsfold told his post-match media conference.

"We put ourselves under a lot of pressure inside 50 with our shots for goal with an error somewhere along the line."

"We're not using the ball that well going in, so when the forwards are getting it, they're under enormous pressure and having to have rushed shots."

"We don't take anywhere near enough marks inside 50 - if we can take four or five more marks inside 50 that's going to improve our conversion rate immediately."

"The focus is getting the ball in there more cleanly and that will help our conversion."

Worsfold dismissed his team's appalling record on the road as an issue for concern.

The fact the Eagles have not returned home with the choccies since their eight-point win over St Kilda at Etihad Stadium in Round 21 2007, he said, is neither here nor there.

"We're building to become a better side and a side that will be good enough to win on the road and that's a focus for us," he said.

"Those wins will come as we become a better side and continue to do the work we know we have to do."

Worsfold said he wasn't surprised by the Demons' early intensity given the events of the week surrounding club president Jim Stynes' cancer diagnosis.

He was pleased the Eagles were still in the contest right up until late in the final term and said the pressure they managed to exert was good considering the flow-on effects from loss of premiership defender Brett Jones with a torn hamstring in the first five minutes of the match.

"It meant that we had to change plans with how we were using players through the midfield, it had a snowball effect and (Sam) Butler had to play mainly as a back and we had to try and shuffle blokes around a fair bit," he said.

"That put more pressure on different players who couldn't rest as much, but that's what happens when you lose a player