THE TRUE test begins now for the Western Bulldogs.
Luke Beveridge's puppies made hard work of it before posting their third win on the trot on Saturday night, holding off a desperate – but still winless – Brisbane by 14 points at Etihad Stadium.
The Lions slashed the deficit to seven points with four of the first five goals of the last quarter to set up a grandstand finish, only for the Bulldogs to barely do enough.
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A horror Lewis Taylor turnover by hand came back to haunt Brisbane, with Bailey Dale gleefully setting up Marcus Bontempelli's fourth major to stem the bleeding.
The 16.11 (107) to 14.9 (93) triumph levelled the Bulldogs’ ledger through eight rounds, leaving them within shouting distance of the top eight (albeit with an ugly percentage).
But their four victories – most of them unconvincing, like this one – were over Essendon, Carlton, Gold Coast and now the Lions, who have a modest six wins between them, so the jury is still out.
A Friday night date with the Crows at Adelaide Oval kicks off a season-defining period for the 2016 premiers including clashes with Collingwood, Melbourne then the Power in Adelaide after the bye.
"Whenever I give any commentary, I always believe we can win," Beveridge said post-match.
"We'll go to Adelaide thinking we can beat Adelaide, but when you question around are we satisfied, is this the path we envisioned we'd be on, well, not really.
"The big losses still grate on you. No matter what the reasons are, you never like to be poleaxed like we were in three matches this year.
"But apart from those three losses; the narrow loss to Sydney, the four games (we won) have been really encouraging."
They will attack that difficult month-long stretch with heightened confidence – and a midfield that has woken from its early-season slumber.
Jack Macrae enhanced his reputation as arguably the game's most reliable onballer, winning 26 of his career-best 47 disposals (18 contested) in the opening half.
Throw in 10 clearances and eight tackles and the 23-year-old can expect to cash three more Brownlow Medal votes.
WATCH: The Bont does what he does
Toby McLean (26 touches), Lachie Hunter (33) and Caleb Daniel (27) ably supported him in the middle, defying Brisbane big man Stefan Martin's dominance over Tom Boyd in the ruck.
Matthew Suckling's (30) ball use made him a weapon for the Bulldogs across half-back all night and his magnificent long-range finish, after Bontempelli's fourth, put paid to the Lions' challenge.
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The Bont (24) roamed the forward line in his return from a hip complaint and was effective without being dominant, forming a good combination with Billy Gowers (two goals).
Aaron Naughton's first quarter ankle injury left the Bulldogs one player down for much of the game and the first-year defender faces time on the sidelines with suspected ligament damage.
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Brisbane, on the other hand, is one defeat away from its worst start in history, way back in 1991 when the Lions lost their opening nine matches.
But coach Chris Fagan urged fans and media alike not to judge his side purely on wins and losses, insisting there is plenty of evidence his men are heading in the right direction.
WATCH: Eric Hipwood snaps a nice goal
"We're a bit sick of (falling just short). We've been doing that a lot this year," Fagan said.
"I guess it's a sign that we've improved, because we weren't doing it all that often last year – I know we won the five games, but we got beaten up quite a few times last year, whereas that's not happening to us now.
"Other than the Richmond game, we've been a highly competitive unit, but when the whips are cracking, we're still not quite good enough to get over the line.
"That's not a permanent thing. That's just something we've got to keep working at and we'll get there in the end, but if you have a good look at our numbers this year … we've improved a lot."
Dayne Zorko backed up his return to form from a week ago with 24 touches and four goals – giving him eight in the past fortnight – as he shook Mitch Honeychurch's best efforts to tag him.
Zorko initially tried to run with Macrae before Brisbane's coaching staff sent Mitch Robinson to the red-hot Bulldog late in the second term.
Martin had 49 hit-outs to ensure Brisbane won the hit-out battle 62-20, but the visitors still conceded the clearances 45-35.
Tom Cutler had 22 touches and seven inside 50s, while Charlie Cameron finished with three majors from 18 possessions.
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MEDICAL ROOM
Western Bulldogs: First-year defender Aaron Naughton suffered suspected ligament damage when he rolled his right ankle right before quarter-time, as he competed with Eric Hipwood for the loose ball near the boundary line. Two club trainers escorted him from the field and he never returned. Bailey Dale also went to the bench late in the second term to get his left AC joint examined, but he started the second half on the ground.
WATCH: Aaron Naughton left the game early
Brisbane: The Lions managed to get through unscathed.
NEXT UP
The Bulldogs have a six-day turnaround for their trip to Adelaide Oval on Friday night to face a Crows side on the rebound from a narrow Showdown loss. Brisbane returns to the familiar surrounds of the Gabba – and has the advantage of an eight-day break – to host Hawthorn.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.3 9.5 12.8 16.11 (107)
BRISBANE 4.1 6.5 8.8 14.9 (93)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli 4, Gowers 2, Lipinski 2, McLean 2, Daniel, Boyd, Dale, Wallis, Dunkley, Suckling
Brisbane: Zorko 4, Cameron 3, McInerney 2, McStay 2, Rayner, McCluggage, Hipwood
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Macrae, McLean, Hunter, Bontempelli, Suckling
Brisbane: Zorko, Martin, Cameron, Cutler, Robinson
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Naughton (ankle)
Brisbane: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Fisher, Margetts, Whetton
Official crowd: 20,865 at Etihad Stadium
