West Coast skipper Luke Shuey is adamant his team can still win games even when rivals extinguish their marking power.

The Eagles’ eight-match winning streak was brought to an end on Thursday night when they suffered a 27-point loss to Richmond.

The standout statistic to come out of the game was West Coast’s 46 marks – well below their season average of 79.

West Coast’s two best intercept defenders Jeremy McGovern (nine disposals, two marks) and Tom Barrass (nine disposals, three marks) were also unusually quiet.

In all four of West Coast’s losses this year, their marking numbers have been significantly down.

But Shuey doesn’t think West Coast’s chances of winning are largely influenced by the marking numbers they can produce.

“We have won games without taking a huge number of marks before,” Shuey said.

“That wasn’t the reason why we lost (to Richmond).

“When we play well, our marks tend to be up. But that wasn’t the sole reason why Richmond beat us.

“They were probably better at the contest than we were for a lot of the night and their pressure probably got to us a little bit as well.”

McGovern and Barrass have been in hot marking form this season, but they were rarely sighted against the Tigers.

The duo will face another big test if Essendon’s Joe Daniher is deemed fit to play in Tuesday night’s clash at the Gabba.

Daniher booted three goals to inspire Essendon’s come-from-behind victory against Hawthorn on Thursday night, and he looms as a major threat for the Eagles if he is given the green light to play after such a short break.

Shuey said it was important for his team not to become over-reliant on the marking power of McGovern and Barrass.

“Their intercept marking -we’re not going to have seven or eight intercept marks from both of them every week,” Shuey said.

“We don’t want to rely on that to win games.

“Obviously they’d love to take more marks, but we don’t need them to. If they do – great, that’s what they do, and they’re two of the best at it. But we’d like to find other avenues to win.”

Eagles forward Josh Kennedy could miss the match against Essendon after being concussed early in the loss to Richmond.

WEST COAST’S MARKS IN THEIR FOUR LOSSES

* 44-point loss to Gold Coast in round 2: 56 marks

* 30-point loss to Brisbane in round 3: 47 marks

* 48-point loss to Port Adelaide in round 4: 71 marks

* 27-point loss to Richmond in round 14: 46 marks

Season average: 79