WESTERN Bulldogs midfielder Matthew Boyd expects a clash of styles in Sunday's AFL match against in-form Hawthorn.

Led by super tagger Brad Sewell, Hawthorn has emerged as one of the competition's better shut-down teams in 2007, while the Bulldogs are known for their hard running and rapid ball movement.

Geelong coach Mark Thompson described Hawthorn's style of play as more of "an ugly game" rather than "a fashionable, pretty game" last week, but Boyd was full of praise for the Hawks' hardness.

"They've got a number of players who can shut down opposition midfielders and that's just a good accountable way of playing footy," Boyd said.

"We're expecting Hawthorn to be pretty hard at it.

"We're going to have to withstand their pressure and be able to run and generate the ball ourselves.

"I've heard that they are maybe the benchmark for the fittest team in the league at the moment so it's going to be a real challenge for us."

Boyd was also quick to point out the Hawks also had plenty of ball-winners and players able to find the footy in tight situations.

Thompson said before Geelong and Hawthorn met at Launceston last week that his side would have to adapt, but the 24-year-old Boyd backed the Bulldogs' game plan to prevail at the MCG on Sunday.

Boyd was especially pleased with how the Bulldogs repeatedly harassed and forced Richmond into error last Friday night on the way to squaring their win-loss record at 2-2.

"We just did it really well in the first half, we tackled and our pressure skills were outstanding, I thought. That's what set the game up for us," Boyd said.

"We knew if we closed their space and kept on going at them and at them then eventually teams are going to make mistakes.

"You've just got to plan your own game and if you do it well enough hopefully you get the result."

Boyd said the win over Richmond has shaken off a disappointing couple of weeks for the Bulldogs and helped the team to regain some lost confidence.

"It wasn't dire straits I suppose but it was getting to the point where we had to win and we had to do anything we could to win," Boyd said.

"We put a bit of pressure on ourselves. We really needed to turn the season around."