Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) star Tim Kelly says it’s on the midfield group to deliver the ball better to their forwards, with the Eagles struggling to capitalise on their forward-50 entries.

The Eagles are in the middle of a six-game losing streak, and things won’t get any easier on Sunday when they host a Greater Western Sydney outfit desperate for wins to keep themselves in the hunt for finals.

And while their defensive efforts have been firmly in the spotlight, their ball use forward of centre is also hurting them.

Since round six, they rank last for marks inside 50 (9.3) and scores per entry (37.1 per cent).

They went forward 16 times more than Richmond but went at a woeful 39 per cent, which was a huge factor in the shock loss to the previously winless Tigers.

In the first quarter of their loss to Melbourne, they kicked only 1.2 from 12 entries, before 2.3 from 11 in the second term.

Kelly said the midfield needed to take more “care” to ensure they would give the forwards the best looks in attack.

“It has been off because we are getting looks in there and for whatever reason the forward wants it a bit deeper when they’re trying to slide and at times they’re hitting up and we’re pushing it too far, it’s just not to advantage,” he said.

“We can definitely get better at that. It’s probably more on the midfielders taking a bit more care in how we’re delivering it inside 50, giving our forwards the best chance to mark it and allow us to set the ground up.

“As midfielders, we can get a hell of a lot better in that space.”

Kelly has been among the Eagles’ best players this year, alongside young star Harley Reid and defender Reuben Ginbey.

The 31-year-old missed out on selection for the season opener against Gold Coast, but returned in round two and has not put a foot wrong since, leading the team in average disposals (23.38), inside-50s (44) and goal assists (eight).

“I feel fit, body-wise, I am in a much better place than I’ve been for a couple of years,” Kelly said.

“I am just enjoying the grind, enjoying the challenge, and just trying to bring my strengths to help my teammates.”

It is a stark contrast from last year when Kelly was dropped twice, including choosing to return to the WAFL rather than play as the tactical sub for the round 18 clash against Yartapuulti (Port Adelaide).

“It was around this time when I was playing forward... to be fair, I wasn’t having the impact I would’ve liked,” he said.

“It was different for me. It was less ball hunting and more positioning and things like that. More off-ball running. It was either be the sub or potentially miss.

“I said, ‘Why don’t I just go back to WAFL and work on getting back to playing my footy, which is around the ball, and I am happy to fight for my spot in the team as a midfielder’. I did that and came back, and I am pretty proud of my last few weeks, how I finished the year off last year and just been trying to carry that into this pre-season and this season.”

West Coast will be known as Waalitj Marawar for Sir Doug Nicholls Rounds.