Western Bulldogs senior coach Luke Beveridge says there is plenty of positivity at the Kennel heading into a third consecutive finals series.

The Bulldogs are preparing for a do-or-die elimination final against Essendon in Launceston on Sunday, after slipping to fifth with losses in their last three games of the home-and-away season.

Beveridge said the focus has already turned to the opportunity that awaits, rather than dwelling on recent results.

“All we can do is look at the positives – it’s the first time we’ve finished fifth for a long time, there’s the body of wins, and there’s a stable platform that we know can help us from here on in,” Beveridge told media on Tuesday morning.

“There’s a great opportunity to win our first final for a while, and that’s where we’ve turned our minds to really quickly.

“We’ve got an important session today, where we can start to put some of those things into action that are going to help us on Sunday.

“There’s reasons for our dip and definitely our win-loss ratio is something we need to improve, but everything changes now – it’s a finals series, and the game becomes a little bit different.”

Having faced Essendon just three weeks ago, Beveridge is familiar with the capabilities of their on-field threats, and already has somewhat of an idea as to whose influence the Bulldogs should be looking to limit.

Beveridge acknowledged ruck-forward Peter Wright and midfielder-forward Jake Stringer as two priorities.

“(The last time we played), they had 39 inside 50s and we had 60, and (Peter) kicked seven and kicked straight,” Beveridge said.

“We’ve got a really good handle on how and why he kicked his goals…so we’ll definitely make sure we negate him in the air, and definitely make sure we understand that whether he’s having a shot from 30m or 55m out, he’s kicking pretty straight at the moment. We’ll need to limit his opportunities.

“I think Jake’s impact at the stoppage – especially at centre bounces – has become quite critical for their team, so we’ll need to make sure our method and preparation is on point.

“Ultimately he’s been able to hit the scoreboard too, so between our mids and defenders we’ll need to share responsibility.

“They’ve got quite a bit of depth in (the middle) there too – it’ll be an intriguing battle, midfield v midfield, and how that transpires.”

The Bulldogs will announce their extended squad on Thursday night, before trimming that to a team of 22 and four emergencies on Friday.