The coach
In the words of coach Rodney Eade, the Bulldogs have a lot to lose in this Friday’s preliminary final against Geelong: “We've got as much to lose as Geelong, and that's a grand final spot," he told westernbulldogsfc.com.au.
Last time they met, in round 16, the Bulldogs were level with the Cats at half time before Geelong ran away with a 61-point win in front of an overwhelmingly Cats-dominated crowd at Skilled Stadium.
But Eade has warned against worrying too much about the opposition.
“We have to worry about the way we play, and what we're going to do,” Eade said on Tuesday.
"I think if you put too much focus on the opposition, you can lose focus on your own direction.”
The All-Australian
Key defender and All-Australian Dale Morris said the Bulldogs felt enormous pressure going into the Swans match, but were able to rise to the challenge.
"It was a big week, a big build-up with people jumping on us and saying that we're going to go out in straight sets,” Morris said after the win.
"So we had a bit to prove and to the boys' credit, we all came out and across the board we all put in 100 per cent.”
Morris, along with fellow defenders Brian Lake and Ryan Hargrave will be keen to continue last week’s form after struggling against the Hawks two weeks ago.
The assistant coach
So how will the Bulldogs beat the side that look to be well and truly on their way to taking home a consecutive premiership?
Assistant coach Leon Cameron echoed Eade’s comments, adding that the Dogs’ needed to focus on what they could take to the Cats: excellent tackling, pressure and ball movement from last week’s semi-finals win over Sydney.
"We've got a massive hurdle this week, we acknowledge that, but so have they,” Cameron said. "They've got a big hurdle, to get over us."
Whether they see it as playing with everything to lose, or nothing to lose, the Bulldogs will need to produce something special.
At the selection table
The Bulldogs line-up is unchanged after midfielder Adam Cooney was given the all-clear after reportedly suffering from the flu and a mild knee injury early in the week.
Despite suffering a bad knock to the head in round 22 against Adelaide, and leaving the field during last Friday’s second quarter from a second head-knock, skipper Brad Johnson bounced back to provide fearless leadership and spur the Bulldogs on to victory.
Shaun Higgins received some hard knocks to the head and shoulders while playing Tadhg Kennelly, but will be right for Friday, as will Ryan Hargrave, who was cleared of late contact to Sydney's Ryan O'Keefe.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
