After losing their opening two games of the 2020 season in disappointing fashion, the Western Bulldogs were having an identity crisis.

In the space of a week, everything changed.

The Bulldogs were copping it from everywhere after being thrashed by Collingwood and St Kilda, especially when it came to their ability to absorb the physical pressure of the opposition.

In Round 3, their season was on the line against their Elimination Final nemesis from the previous season, GWS.

“It seems like a lifetime ago in a footy sense, but the pressure they were under going into that Giants game, where they got that unwanted tag of being soft, you never want that especially in a contact sport or AFL footy,” former Geelong star Jimmy Bartel told RSN radio.

“The fact that they answered that…that helped them find their identify and confidence.  You saw them just grow and grow.

“They seemed like they had that real balance.  They had the edge in the contest, but they didn’t lose that outside dash and creativity.”

The Bulldogs not only silenced the critics that Friday night at Marvel Stadium in an emphatic performance, they kick-started a run of 10 wins in 15 games which eventually led to back-to-back finals appearances.

“We came into the year searching for our identity after it had been questioned post the elimination final loss,” Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge told RSN.

“We obviously got strong-armed quite severely by a pretty mature GWS outfit.

“In those first two rounds…we didn’t find the balance between the physical side of the game and just playing.

“After the second loss we came together and probably got back to the core of why we’d be a good side again.

“Significantly, we were playing GWS.  They tried it on again, and we found a really strong balance of playing the game and flying the flag for each other.

“From there we really grew, and the unity side of it became stronger, and we started to play better footy.

“It was probably the biggest challenge I’ve had since I’ve coached the boys, to try to help the through it. 

“To their credit, they did an outstanding job.  We’re playing some pretty good footy, and those questions around the physicality and if we’re challenged on that front, I think have disappeared.”