West Coast coach Adam Simpson will consider wielding the axe after accusing his side of rolling over in their 29-point loss to Adelaide in Perth on Saturday night.

The Eagles were on track to claim their biggest scalp of the AFL season after opening up a 26-point lead midway through the third quarter.

But the wheels fell off dramatically from that point on, with Adelaide booting the last eight goals of the match to secure the 15.15 (105) to 11.10 (76) win.

The result saw West Coast (7-5) slip two games adrift of fourth spot, putting their premiership ambitions on thin ice.

Adelaide ended up winning the inside-50m count 65-35, and Simpson was left scratching his head as to why his team fell in a heap so dramatically.

And he will strongly consider making some tough calls at the selection table heading into Saturday’s clash with Brisbane at the Gabba.

“I think we need to (make changes),” Simpson said.

“We had three inside 50s in the last quarter. The stats blow you away. I didn’t see it coming. It’s really disappointing.

“We just weren’t up for the fight. We just rolled over, (and left) too much to too few.

“This is not a consistent thing that happens to us, so we need to take a deep breath on that. But we need to find out what’s going on.”

West Coast’s patchy away form had many people questioning whether the club was a legitimate premiership contender.

And now that they’ve lost at home, they face an uphill battle to secure a top-four berth.

“Tonight is a good indication of where we’re at,” Simpson said.

“We think we’re better than that, but until we play four quarters and everyone contributes for the whole game, it’s going to be tough.”

West Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui is in doubt for the Lions clash as he battles ongoing soreness in his Achilles tendon.

But defender Eric Mackenzie will return after missing the loss to Adelaide because of illness.

Only Fremantle and Hawthorn had beaten West Coast in Perth since the start of last year, and the Crows can now call themselves a legitimate premiership threat after joining that group.

But Crows coach Don Pyke was doing his best to play down the growing hype surrounding his side.

“The difference between 7-5 and 8-4 is not to be overlooked. From a belief view point it helps in terms of the journey we are on,” Pyke said.

“The guys now get a real feeling of what they are able to create as a group in any circumstance.