Western Bulldogs key forward Aaron Naughton says sticking to the fundamentals was crucial in securing a 49-point win over Essendon in their do-or-die elimination final.

It was a maiden finals win for Naughton, and the Bulldogs’ first finals win since their 2016 campaign – which saw them claim the flag after finishing seventh on the ladder.

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“It obviously feels pretty unreal – for myself, it’s a third time lucky in an elimination final to be able to come down to Tassie in the rain,” Naughton told westernbulldogs.com.au post-match.

“It was real basic footy sort of fundamentals that we preached pre-game - we knew that it was going to be a pretty wet game, so particularly up forward it was just being strong in the contest, bringing the ball to ground and just letting our smalls go to work which they did tonight.

“For the boys to put in the effort that we did (is great). We now look forward to another final.”

Since losing fellow key forward Josh Bruce to an ACL injury, Naughton has been forced to step up as the main focal point inside 50.

In Sunday’s final, he added three goals from five marks.

Naughton said as unfortunate as Bruce’s injury is, he’s enjoying the added responsibility.

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“It’s obviously heartbreaking for my mate Brucey – I was on FaceTime to him just before,” he said.

“He’s just the ultimate team-mate. Without him down there you have to take a bit more responsibility and leadership as the main sort of target down there, which has been good.

“It’s something that I look forward to.”

The Bulldogs are set to meet Brisbane in a semi-final at the Gabba on Saturday, with a start time to be confirmed in due course.