Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge is thrilled his players are helping drive standards as they face a season-defining match against Essendon.
Defeat to the Bombers at a sold-out Marvel Stadium on Friday night could drop the Bulldogs from seventh to as low as 12th.
However, a win would solidify their position in the top-eight as they attempt to play finals for a fifth straight season.
The Bulldogs are coming off a heartbreaking two-point loss against Sydney, after which Beveridge questioned some unidentified individual players for playing roles that cost his team the match.
Bulldogs midfielder Adam Treloar this week said the club had to treat the remaining six games like finals.
"Those words haven't come out of my mouth, but I like the way he's (Treloar) thinking," Beveridge said.
"There's no time like the present. If our players are using that sort of terminology, it's fine with me.
"I'm a dreamer, I'm a believer, I'm someone who doesn't let go until it's finished.
"I'm telling our players that we are capable of anything - but it remains to be seen."
Essendon sit eighth and are coming off a 77-point smashing from reigning premiers Geelong at the Cats' Kardinia Park fortress last Saturday night
But the Bulldogs will treat the Bombers as if they will come out in the scintillating form they showed against Adelaide a week earlier.
"Their offensive brilliance has been quite evident in some of their games," Beveridge said.
"They had a bit of a shoot-out against Adelaide as well, so we can see where their threats are. They'll be a handful.
"The Bombers are striving to make sure at the end of the year that they're finishing in that top eight - as we are - so like Sydney last week, they're as dangerous as any team on their day."
