West Coast is in a spot of bother.

Six games into the 2019 season, the reigning premiers are languishing in 12th spot on the ladder, have suffered two heavy defeats in a row — by 58 points to Geelong last weekend and by 42 points at home to Port Adelaide the week before.

They now have a percentage worse than Carlton, winners of one solitary game.

As is often the way, as soon as a premiership side wobbles, talk turns to the supposed "hangover" effect.

"They've had three defeats this year that have all been smashings," St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt said on his Melbourne SEN breakfast radio program after the weekend's shellacking.

"They couldn't move the footy and they couldn't get it off Geelong. It looked like a training run.

"I think there are some legitimate concerns."

His comments echoed those of four-time premiership coach and Hall of Famer David Parkin, who lamented the Eagles' inability to wrestle control back from Geelong.

"There wasn't a definite change of approach," he said on ABC Grandstand after the match.

"Most other coaches, most other teams, would have had a second gear to go in a different direction to try and slow it down."

So what has changed at the Eagles from last year's flag-winning side?

The reigning premiers are now sitting in 12th spot on the ladder. (AAP: Richard Wainwright)

Stats show West Coast struggling

Coaches will tell you there is a lot more to a game of football than just what appears on the stat sheet.

But there should be, as Riewoldt put it, legitimate concern over how this year's side stacks up against the 2018 premiership-winning team so far this season.

A look at the key metrics shows West Coast's players are off the pace across the board:

Fewer inside 50s (53 per game last year compared to 45 this season)

Fewer (53 per game last year compared to 45 this season) Fewer marks inside 50 (11 compared to eight)

Fewer (11 compared to eight) Fewer contested possessions (144 compared to 129) and possessions overall (356 compared to 340)

Fewer (144 compared to 129) and possessions overall (356 compared to 340) Fewer hit-outs (44 compared to 36) and;

Fewer (44 compared to 36) and; Fewer tackles (61 compared to 48)

It is hard to win games when you don't have the ball, and it's hard to kick goals when the ball doesn't go to the attacking players in goal-scoring areas.

Eagles coach Adam Simpson summed it up in his post-match press conference on Sunday.

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"All other aspects of our game get questioned. Inside 50s the last two weeks I don't think we've had over 40, so trying to get any type of play in our front half has been difficult," Simpson said following last weekend's 58-point thumping.

"There's a lot of work to do, I'm not going to sugar-coat anything. We just didn't look tough enough in most areas."

Eagles players under pressure

The Eagles have never been a knee-jerk reaction club and are unlikely to drop players just for the sake of it. But a string of players should be worried for their spot in the side.

Oscar Allen has gone goalless in two straight games, Jamie Cripps has kicked one behind in his past three games and Mark Hutchings's impact has dramatically fallen away.

The tagger is averaging just 11 disposals and three tackles per game, well down on his 17 disposals and nearly four tackles per game last season.

Jamie Cripps has kicked one behind in his past three games. (AAP: David Crosling)

But perhaps West Coast should look to Adelaide as an example.

Since coach and former Eagle Don Pyke sent a message that no-one was safe in the side by dropping Bryce Gibbs and Josh Jenkins this season, the Crows have thrashed Gold Coast and beaten an in-form St Kilda in Melbourne, to sit just outside the top eight.

For the Eagles, Jack Darling hasn't kicked a goal for two games and has notched up just 13 disposals in that time, though his meagre return is somewhat symptomatic of the Eagles' poor displays against both Port Adelaide and Geelong.

Jack Darling has not kicked a goal for two games. (AAP: Richard Wainwright)

Dropping him may send a message to the rest of the squad that no player is guaranteed a spot in the side.

West Coast plays Gold Coast on Saturday, and though the Suns are by no means the measuring stick of the AFL, the Eagles will desperately want to put in a strong showing to restore some faith both inside and outside the club.

The side may be wobbling, but the wheels haven't fallen off just yet.