1. Bulldogs have bite

The Bulldogs showed plenty of bite in a tale of two halves at Mineral Resources Park.

After a sluggish start and a relatively one-sided affair early, the Dogs found their groove to not only win the second half, but draw level with the Eagles. 

"It was a bit of a slow start, but we came in at half-time and just re-grouped," forward Heidi Woodley said post-match.

"We're a very connected group so we just all got around each other and got back to basics and back to our strengths."

2. Connecting inside 50

While the Dogs' opportunities forward of the ball were limited early, the connection after half-time was significantly better after some slight adjustments.

"With the way that the game was unfolding, we brought Heidi (Woodley) in particular up in front of the contest a bit more.

"We really wanted to get her involved more. The same with our keys in Noodles (Analea McKee) and Emma (McDonald) - we brought them in a layer just to get them closer to the play and it worked really well.

"They were just so much more involved."

3. Time for the real stuff

Tonight's practice match puts a full stop on the Dogs' 2025 pre-season, registering a win and a draw from their two scratch matches. 

The group will get to work over the next week before hosting Melbourne in the Round 1 Pioneers Game at Mission Whitten Oval on Saturday 16 August. 

With plenty to like and get excited about, the Dogs will be keen to get their season off to a perfect start at home in front of the red, white and blue faithful. 

Match summary: 

West Coast 2.2 3.2 4.4 4.4 (28)

Western Bulldogs 0.1 0.2 2.4 4.4 (28)

Goals: Woodley, Edmonds, Stephenson, McDonald.