WESTERN Bulldogs captain Brad Johnson says he no longer feels pressure to be the side’s leading goalkicker and is hopeful an even spread up forward can be a catalyst for a charge deep into September.

Despite kicking four goals in Friday night's win over Essendon – and leading the club’s goalkicking with 47 this year – for once Johnson was forced to take a back seat as teammate Mitch Hahn kicked six goals to spearhead his side to victory.

The Bulldogs have six key players – Johnson, Hahn (33), Jason Akermanis (45), Scott Welsh (40), Daniel Giansiracusa (30), Robert Murphy (30) – who have made strong contributions to their attack.

"The pressure is totally off me to be honest," Johnson said of his role forward.

"There is none whatsoever because of that spread of guys.

"We can rotate guys through full-forward and further up the ground, so the flexibility is fantastic. It’s not left up to one guy."

Johnson praised the effort of Hahn, who he acknowledged was one player who held the key to the side’s finals hopes.

"When Mitch is on song, you can’t beat him," he said.

"His determination and drive is enormous and to have him up there alongside Will Minson, that's super important for our side leading into finals."

Despite conceding 105 points to the Bombers, Johnson was confident the side could tighten its ways and play a harder-nosed brand of footy against more accomplished opposition.

That is sure to get tested against a disciplined Adelaide at AAMI Stadium next Saturday afternoon.

"Our contests are usually pretty tight against the Crows and we’ve only lost one game interstate and that was last week against Brisbane," he said.

"We’ll be keen to go to Adelaide and get that win to keep our away from home advantage and get a confidence booster for the finals."