Western Bulldogs defender Bailey Dale says the team is confident they have the right mix to combat Brisbane in Saturday’s semi final at the Gabba.

The Bulldogs progressed to the second week of the finals series after a convincing 49-point elimination final win over Essendon at UTAS Stadium.

Dale said despite Brisbane pinching their top-four spot in the final round of the season, the Bulldogs will be ready for the challenge.

“(Brisbane) has got some strong players in every line, but we think we’ve got the right group to be able to nullify them,” the 2021 All Australian defender told media over Zoom on Wednesday morning.

“It’s going to be tough, but we’ll have our plans and hopefully we can get on top of them.

“I don’t know if we owe them one – they obviously had a great year and really deserved that (top four) spot.

“We probably didn’t play our best footy for that last three or four weeks. Hopefully we can get over the line this weekend and all will be forgiven.”

Dale said being on the road as a group has been great for team-building and getting to know one another.

“The group is really filled with confidence at the moment – obviously being away for the last few days, we’ve been really able to get around each other and enjoy the win,” Dale said.

“Being away together as a group has really made us gel – just spending more time together and getting to know each other on a deeper level, rather than just going into the club and seeing each other at the footy all the time.

“It has been really good for our group. We’re really starting to forge some strong bonds.”

The Bulldogs will fly out of Launceston on Friday morning in preparation for their semi final on Saturday night.