West Coast's woes on the road persist but coach John Worsfold feels the problem will fix itself as they develop in the AFL.

Saturday's 20-point loss to Melbourne at the MCG was their 18th straight away from Perth, equalling the Demons' current poor record on the road.

The all-time record is Sydney's horror stretch of 21 away losses in the early 1990s.

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

"Those wins will come as we become a better side.

"There's no question the guys worked really hard, they gave it everything ... they kept the pressure on Melbourne all the way through and gave themselves a chance."

Worsfold was philosophical post-match, saying the Eagles suffered for not being more efficient in attack.

They had more inside 50s and more possessions than Melbourne, but their scoring inaccuracy in the first half hurt them.

The Demons led by three goals at halftime despite having two less scoring shots and this proved crucial.

Another early setback was the injury to Brett Jones, who limped off in the first term with a hamstring problem.

Worsfold said the Eagles knew Melbourne would come at them hard as they sought to win for club legend Jim Stynes, who is battling cancer, and he felt they handled the early pressure relatively well.

After last week's late heroics against Hawthorn, No.2 draft pick Nic Naitanui struggled against Melbourne, but again Worsfold felt the youngster never gave up.

"He kept working and put on some really good tackles in that last quarter," Worsfold said.

Meanwhile, veteran Eagles defender Adam Hunter had surgery on his troublesome shoulder in Melbourne on Friday and is expected to be out of action for four weeks.

But the Eagles are confident he will return to the side before the end of the season.

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