West Coast coach Andrew McQualter says the stability of naming the same 23 for a third consecutive game will be “critical” to their hopes of pulling off their biggest upset of the season.

For only the third time since 1999, the Eagles have not made a change at the selection table for two straight weeks.

The last was from rounds three to five in 2007 and round 12 to 14 in 2005 — with the Eagles winning all six of those games.

West Coast head into their clash against dual reigning premiers Brisbane at Optus Stadium on Saturday night on the back of five defeats, with their last win coming against Essendon in late May.

McQualter said while the 23 he had named to take on the Lions had lost to both Adelaide (25 points) and the Western Bulldogs (16 points), they had shown positive signs which gave him confidence to back them in.

“It’s critical. We haven’t been in a position to be able to do this for a while. We haven’t won the last two weeks, but we feel like we’ve played for large periods a reasonable brand and a reasonable style of footy,” he said.

“People are playing their roles, so we think the continuity will be important. In my time we haven’t had three weeks in a row of the same team, so that’s a good thing and hopefully it builds on performance.

“We’re getting enough evidence from our games that we’ve got some growth, but we just have to do it for longer periods of time … we were in a position to beat the Bulldogs who are seventh on the ladder, we were in a position a week before to beat the Crows who are one of the form teams of the competition.”

Brisbane are not only star-studded across all lines, but their defined style has been paramount to playing in three consecutive grand finals, resulting in the past two premierships.

A lot of it is on the back of their ability to control the footy, with the Chris Fagan-coached outfit still the No.1 team in the AFL for marks (110 per game).

McQualter said it would be critical to take away the Lions’ marking game if they were going to cause an upset.

“They’re an unbelievable control team when they can control the ball, and it certainly allows them to set the ground the way they want to and have it look the way they want,” he said.

“Like everyone who plays Brisbane, it will be a priority to try to reduce their marks, but it’s not easy to do.

“These guys have played a lot of footy together, and they’re good at it, so it’s going to be a challenge, but it’s one we’re looking forward to.”

McQualter also confirmed No.1 draftee Willem Duursma would once again play through the midfield after he starred against the Bulldogs with 20 touches, seven tackles and a goal.

The teenager had played the previous two matches predominantly as a forward, and while the coach thought he looked threatening, Duursma will once again be unleashed in the engine room.

“We’ve been pretty consistent with players we’ve played in the midfield. Willem was back in there full-time last week and showed some great signs against a pretty good player in Marcus Bontempelli,” McQualter said.

“He had some moments where he got to learn a lot, and he’ll get that opportunity again tomorrow. We’ll play Willem through the midfield, which is great.

“It is going to take all of our players tomorrow to get the result we want. We know how potent Brisbane can be if they get the game on their terms.”