Western Bulldogs key forward Josh Bruce says the group’s ability to overrun sides late in games this season is a sign of their maturity.

The Bulldogs managed to turn a 27-point deficit into a 16-point win over Carlton on Sunday - predominantly thanks to some Marcus Bontempelli brilliance in the final term – with a come-from-behind win against West Coast in round two another example.

To top off Sunday’s win, Bruce finished the day with five goals from 11 marks, moving him into third spot in the Coleman Medal race.

“I think it’s a natural evolution of the group - we’re all starting to hit that age bracket where we’ve got that ability, that run in our legs and that experience to (overrun teams). I think it’s the sign of a really strong team,” Bruce told media on Wednesday morning.

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Josh Bruce | 'A really good sign of our growth'

Josh Bruce spoke to the media at VU Whitten Oval on Wednesday ahead of the Round 9 clash with Port Adelaide.

“Personally it was good to get on the end of a few – I haven’t had too many good days against Carlton, or Liam Jones for that matter.

“It was good to have a good game, but some of the service was really good too. Obviously ‘Bont’ had an incredible game, and he kind of took control in that second half.

“Looking back at some of the influence he had – he’s a superstar.”

The Bulldogs have the tough task of meeting Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval this Saturday night, before back-to-back home games against St Kilda in round 10, and Melbourne under Friday night lights to launch Sir Doug Nicholls Round.

Bruce said those games will be a good indication of where the side is at, particularly after the loss a fortnight ago to perennial premiership contender Richmond.

“It’s going to be really important to perform well over the next few weeks - we’ve had some challenging matches up to this day against some solid teams, and we’ve been able to get over the top of them,” he said.

“Obviously our performance against Richmond wasn’t good enough in the second half, so we’ll be looking forward to seeing how we go against Port.

“It’s a huge game coming up at Adelaide Oval, and Port has obviously been going really well.

“I think the key to beating Port is the key to beating any team, and that’s winning it at the source and sticking to our brand of footy which is a high-pressure game and a high-contest game.

“We’re looking forward to testing our mettle against another premiership contender.”