Western Bulldogs defender Matt Suckling is pleased with the way his team finished off the JLT Community Series and is looking forward to the Bulldogs switching to 'premiership points' mode and taking on Collingwood in Round 1.

The Dogs trailed Gold Coast by 49 points late in the second term before storming home to snatch a 21-ponit win.  Speaking with 3AW on Monday with 3AW, Suckling said the extra pressure applied by the Bulldogs in the second half helped turn the match around.

"It was nice to get over the line in the end. I suppose the first half wasn't that much fun but to the boys credit we stuck with it and ended up running away with it,” Suckling said.

"They were terrific early, they were really up for it right from the word go in that first half. They were pretty slick.

“I know down back it was coming out pretty quickly and it was hard work. That's something we addressed at half time, to apply a bit more pressure and I think we did that in the second half and started to build some momentum for the next couple of weeks."

Ahead of the Round 1 match against the Magpies, Suckling said he was looking forward to a tough contest against a side that pushed hard for victory twice in 2016 against the Bulldogs.

"We played Collingwood twice last year and they were both ripping games. Both went down to the wire and I'm sure Round One will be exactly the same. Everyone's looking forward to getting out on the MCG."

Suckling said the players were acutely aware of the challenges of backing up after the success of 2016 and were preparing well for the season ahead.

"It's always a challenge coming off the successful year and the holiday period and getting back into training but, to the boys credit, everyone's cone back in good nick and good spirits. I think the good thing is they all enjoyed last year and they want to have more success and enjoy it even more.

The Bulldogs premiership season will kick off against Collingwood at the MCG on March 24.