JAMIE Cripps has long slid under the radar in a forward line where big-name trio Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and Mark LeCras have combined for more than 1200 goals.

Now Cripps finds himself the last man standing in a depleted West Coast attack, which has been decimated by injury and the unavailability of high-flying newcomer Liam Ryan.

The Eagles’ most experienced forward remaining is determined to lead from the front in today’s crunch game against Greater Western Sydney at Optus Stadium.

“I’m the oldest in the forward line now, which is pretty weird for me,” the 26-year-old said.

“I’ve played most of my career with JK, Lecca and JD, so it’s a different feel out there but I think the boys are growing and developing well.”

Cripps, who has played every game this season and kicked 16 goals, said the absence of the senior forwards meant he had to play more of a leadership role in attack rather than just worrying about his own game.

“It’s probably coming out of my shell a little bit more and communicating and making sure the other boys are set up and doing the right thing,” he said.

Cripps conceded the absence of star power forward duo Kennedy and Darling made things tough. West Coast have not won a game since Darling hurt his ankle in round 11 and enter today’s game on a three-match losing run.

The Eagles are likely to use All-Australian defender Jeremy McGovern and recalled big man Nathan Vardy as their tall targets in attack.

“It is what it is. It’s a good challenge for the group. It would be handy to have one of them (Kennedy or Darling), but this is what we’ve got,” Cripps said.

“The good thing about Jack was if he wasn’t marking it, he was bringing it to ground. So he was creating the contest and either getting it out of bounds or getting it for the little fellas. So we probably have missed that a little bit.

“It’s just on us as a forward group that we need to work better together and when it does come inside 50, that we make the most of our chances.

“Create the contest and keep it in our half as much as we can. The goals will come from that. If we’re putting on the contest and elite pressure, then stuff will happen.”

Cripps remained upbeat despite the Eagles, who won 10 consecutive games in the first half of the season, not having tasted victory since their mid-season bye.

“I haven’t lost any belief in the group and as a forward-line group,” he said.

“We’re 10-4 and we’re still second or third or fourth on the ladder. We’re still in a good spot. We just need to get a win this weekend, which will be a tough game.

“It’s a massive game for us and it’s a massive game for them as well. We really need the win.”

The Eagles have had a focus this week on eradicating the poor quarters which have proved their undoing in recent matches.

West Coast lead Adelaide by 20 points at three-quarter time last weekend before being smashed in the final term and losing by 10 points.

Against Essendon at home the previous round, the Eagles were virtually gone by quarter time as the Bombers built a 6.2 to 0.1 advantage.

“We’ve been doing all right for most of the game, it’s just we have those lapses during the game,” Cripps said.

“We’ve gone over the vision to see what we’ve done and it’s only little things that we need to change.”