Star midfielder Lachie Hunter says the confidence of the Western Bulldogs is on the rise, after an impressive month of football following the mid-season bye.

The approach hasn’t changed for the Bulldogs, but the results have started to turn.

“It’s been a really good few weeks, and probably two or three weeks now that we’ve been building,” Hunter told media at VU Whitten Oval on Tuesday.

“It’s always great to get the wins, so the confidence is high at the moment.

“We felt like we were doing a lot of things right, a lot of our KPIs were really good.

WHAT THEY SAID: ROUND 16

“But as the story’s been with our team over the past few years, just our finishing – that final polish, whether it be the set shot or the last kick inside 50, was probably the bit we were lacking.”

Hunter said there had been signs of growth across all lines.

The Bulldogs’ midfield has continued to deliver, the defence has stood tall, and Hunter praised emerging forwards Josh Schache and Aaron Naughton for making an impact.

LIBERATORE A TEST FOR DEES CLASH

“(Geelong’s midfield) probably have been the benchmark this year – Kelly, Dangerfield, Selwood obviously are a pretty formidable trio,” Hunter said.

“The group we’ve got inside are going really well. The boys are doing their job every week… we’ve been relying on them for a number of years.

“Because of our defence being good enough the last couple of weeks, we’ve kept teams to fairly low scores and been able to kick a winning score.

“We want to be known as hard to play against, and I think that’s something we’re starting to become.”

THE FIGHTBACK 30: MOMENT 5