EMERGING key position player Jarrad Grant senses the Western Bulldogs' confidence is growing after this time finishing as victors in Friday night's gritty clash with Melbourne.

Trailing the Demons by nine points with four minutes left to play, the Bulldogs snatched the four-point win through goals to Brian Lake and Ryan Griffen, and Grant said the importance of the result was obvious in the rooms afterwards.

"It was a hard-fought win. It took us until the last couple of minutes to get across the line but hopefully it is the start of something and we can kick off from here," he told westernbulldogs.com.au.

"It was just a scrap of a win. All of the boys just worked together."

The mood was certainly in contrast to the one he and his teammates shared last round, with the 20-year old acknowledging their struggle to get over a three-point loss to St Kilda.

"We were pretty disappointed (last Friday) to lose it in the last couple of minutes - for them to kick three goals. We tried to move on from Monday and get back to the way we were playing," he said.

"We just had to stick to our game plan. We're confident in our structures and abilities."

The Bulldogs' next assignment is the Sydney Swans in Canberra, with Grant highlighting a need to improve skills and contested ball work before meeting a side that has won five of its six games.

For Grant, the early part of the season has seen his transition towards the player the Bulldogs hoped he would become with his selection at No.5 in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft.

Grant has played the last three games after just one senior appearance in 2009.

"It's good to finally get involved and three games now … hopefully I can continue. It's fantastic playing with the boys."