Western Bulldogs key defender Alex Keath says it was great for the team to respond the way they did against Essendon on Sunday, as they begin to turn their attention to week two of the finals series.

Premiership Bulldogs Tom Liberatore, Jack Macrae, Lachie Hunter and Marcus Bontempelli were among the major ball-winners in the 49-point elimination final win, which Keath said came as no shock.

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Alex Keath | 'Excited that we've earned that opportunity'

Hear from Alex Keath ahead of the semi final match against Brisbane.

“We knew there was some pressure building, particularly after our finish to the home-and-away season,” Keath told media via Zoom.

“I don’t think we’ve completely brushed that aside, but it was good to play some strong footy against Essendon who are a really dangerous side.

“If you go through the names (of those who won the 2016 flag), there’s a lot of them that were really prominent on the weekend, and I think that’s no surprise.

“Those guys that are really experienced in the coal-face - particularly in those big finals games - were the ones that had a big impact for us.

“We hope that will continue this weekend.”

Keath was also celebrating a milestone of his own on Sunday – a maiden finals win.

He’s hopeful the group can have a similar result against Brisbane in their upcoming semi-final.

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Social Reactions | Elimination Final

See how the fans reacted to the weekends Elimination Final victory on social media.

“It felt great – I played last year against St Kilda, but we went down by a few points in the end,” Keath said.

“In that game in particular, we started really poorly and tried to claw our way back, but the Saints were able to hang on, so to be able to get my first finals win personally, was really pleasing.”

“We’re obviously really fortunate to be together and travelling and playing footy - everyone has got little bits and pieces at home that might be challenging at different times, but I think the main thing is that we’re pretty grateful to be away together and still be able to play particularly at this time of the season.

“We’re looking forward to another week together, and getting up to Brisbane and giving it our best shot.

“It’s just great that we’ve earnt that opportunity and will get another crack in a big final.”

The Bulldogs are set to fly out to Brisbane on Friday, ahead of Saturday night’s semi-final at the Gabba.