West Coast coach Andrew McQualter has hinted more potential changes could be coming in the wake of the Eagles' fifth loss in as many weeks, with a "pretty flat" playing group suffering a historically poor loss to Carlton on Saturday.
McQualter's young midfield group was no match for the Blues' star-studded engine room, with the dropped Tim Kelly unlikely to be a difference maker in the result.
The Eagles lost the contested possession count 136-77, the clearance count 40-18 and the inside 50 count 73-35 in the 71-point defeat.
McQualter said the majority of his side is currently out of form, noting the Eagles are "under no illusions where we're at".
"Clearly, we had an incredibly young midfield, and they had a very experienced midfield. We got to learn a lot," McQualter said post-game.
"Clearly, contested ball at -60 is not at a level where we're going to be ever able to compete.
"We're under no illusions where we're at. We've got a lot of work to do and there's only one way to keep doing that work. We've got to keep getting better and finding ways to improve our players and our systems.
"It's not about any individual. We'll just reward the people that are in form, and we'll challenge and help the people that are out of form. At the moment, unfortunately, there's more out of form than in form in our club.
"You can't go and just buy form. You've got to work at it."
The form of West Coast's co-captains, Oscar Allen and Liam Duggan, has continued to be a talking point amid the Eagles' winless start to the year.
Allen started the game off brightly but struggled to have the impact that fans have come to know in seasons gone by, with the Blues' stingy defence and the Eagles' attacking entries among the factors that limited the West Coast sharpshooter.
Questioned on whether Allen or Duggan could be dropped to the WAFL to rekindle their form, McQualter said he will find a balance of supporting his players and rewarding those in form at both levels.
"Whether it's our captain or anyone, we're really open about everyone is in form or out of form, and we'll keep picking the team based on that and the balance of the team," he said.
"We're going to continue to support our players, that's where we're at. We understand the space we're in. There's some pretty flat guys in our room right now, as you'd expect.
"We lost and lost in the contest by 60, so guys are hurting, but it's about getting to work. This is, this is AFL footy, it's hard.
"[Oscar]'s numbers are good from a GPS perspective. He's running well. This is part of the challenge when you're getting 35 entries. Like, what do you expect from a key forward?
"We want all our guys to be able to compete. We'll keep supporting Oscar."
The Eagles could have Jeremy McGovern (adductor) and Elijah Hewett (calf) available for selection when they face Essendon at Optus Stadium on Friday, while draftee Lucca Grego is making his case for a debut with strong WAFL form.
The small defender has flourished since moving into midfield at the state league level, giving McQualter another name to consider.
Top draft pick Bo Allan was forced to deal with an untimely illness that saw him miss Friday's WAFL clash with Subiaco.
"He's probably had a couple of good games now that we've moved him into the midfield in the WAFL team," McQualter said of Grego.
"He had a good game last night. He's learning a lot about midfield. He played most of the pre-season as a half-back, so that's part of our exploration that we're going through.
"It was unfortunate that Bo didn't plan, a bit of illness go him yesterday."
Saturday's loss saw the Eagles suffer their worst start to a season, with games to come against Essendon, Hawthorn and Melbourne.
