Western Bulldogs star Lachie Hunter says winning the midfield battle will be critical to overcoming Essendon in Sunday’s do-or-die elimination final.

The Bombers’ on-ballers arguably won the battle the last time the two sides met – just three weeks ago – on their way to a 13-point victory.

Despite the Bulldogs entering the finals off the back of three defeats, their midfield showed some positive signs last week against Port Adelaide.

"It was a step in the right direction," Hunter said.

"In our reviews during the week (we identified) there were things we could have done better but you don't get near Port Adelaide and lose by two points without doing a fair few things right as well.

"We definitely took some confidence out of that game.

"It's easy to look at those three weeks without looking at the whole year and accumulating 15 wins. So we've just tried to focus on the positives while still focusing on what we need to improve on going into this week."

Across the first two months of the season, the Bulldogs’ midfield brigade was particularly dominant.

Star duo Josh Dunkley and Adam Treloar missed a large chunk of the year from there with injury.

Both have returned over the past month, with the Bulldogs still fine-tuning their best mix.

"It's been a strength of our group for a while, I think, our midfield,” Hunter said.

"With Ads and Dunks coming back in, it's just about learning how to play with us all in there again. I’m sure that cohesion will come and we’ve focused on it this week.

“We saw at the start of the year how well it worked. We’re just looking to find that form and find that mix with those midfielders in there – who’s in the centre bounce, who’s in the stoppages and who’s forward at those particular times.”

One man the Bulldogs will have to keep a close eye on is someone they know well – Jake Stringer.

The premiership Bulldog has been among the Bombers’ most influential players in their run to the finals. 

"He's obviously a damaging player,” Hunter said.

“He's probably in the form of his career, (similar to) what he was doing here when he was at the peak of his powers.

“We’ve seen how damaging he can be out of centre bounce and he’s obviously always able to hit the scoreboard. He's one we'll have to watch."