ADELAIDE coach Brenton Sanderson has lamented a disastrous capitulation that has cost his Crows any chance of playing in the finals.

The Crows held a 22-point lead over the Western Bulldogs Late in the third quarter at Etihad Stadium after kicking six unanswered goals, before conceding nine of the last 11 goals to lose by 17 points.

"When you’re 22 points up late in the third quarter, you should go on and win that game," Sanderson said.

"I asked (the players) what sort of things were they talking about, what happened on the field ... They let go of their structures of what they planned to do. They allowed themselves to just play without thinking their way through.

"But ... the Bulldogs absolutely brained us in that last quarter. They had more run, they had more want, they had more desire, which is disappointing for our group."

Sanderson was pleased that his team won the clearances (45-35) and contested possessions (140-138) – two areas in which the Bulldogs have excelled this season – but rued conceding 131 points from 47 inside-50s.

"I've had the players in the rooms already and I'm looking at blank faces. They're looking at me like ... they’re really upset," he said.

"I've loved every player that's come into the side because with their age and their experience they've just fought it out, but I didn’t like the last quarter today. I didn't like that fadeout.

"We've got to learn from that. It’s got to sit in your guts and make you upset … Losing's got to really hurt … We've got to learn over the summer that we've got to be a better footy side when it matters."

Sanderson dismissed a suggestion that his side had been overrun by a fitter side.

"I don't want to take anything away from the Bulldogs because they were very good today, but (they) aren't fitter than us," he said.

"We should be able to run out four quarters of footy at this stage of the season ... It’s execution under fatigue. It’s turning the ball over at critical times with some poor decisions ... It feels like we've taken a bit of a step back today."

The Crows coach was also critical of his team's first quarter.

"We started really well last week (in the win over North Melbourne), this week it looked like we were asleep at the start," he said. "That shouldn't happen. You shouldn't allow a side to get away to a seven-goal first quarter."

Sanderson said he had been forced to place "Band-Aids on a lot of problems" this season.

"It doesn't feel like anything's gone right for us this year … We've had trauma injuries and we've had to test our depth," he said. "At times it's looked really exciting. That third quarter today we looked great."

Sanderson said the experience lost from the team that went within a kick of last year's Grand Final had told throughout the season, and especially against the Bulldogs.

Those missing on Sunday included Kurt Tippett, Taylor Walker, Jason Porplyzia, Michael Doughty, Brent Reilly and Graham Johncock.

"Some young players in today, they've been having a red-hot go, but today they just couldn't sustain their form," he said.

Sanderson still wants to finish off the season "really strong" with wins over Melbourne (at home) and West Coast (away).

"We've got to make winning a habit … We've got to make sure we don’t roll over like we did today," he said.