DESPITE boasting the tightest defence in the AFL, the Western Bulldogs are still trying to find "the final piece of the puzzle" up forward, says sharpshooter Tory Dickson.

Dickson, who has kicked 12 goals since returning in round five but was held goalless on Sunday for the first time since round eight last year, told AFL.com.au the Bulldogs' forwards were still battling to put together a full game "where everything works.

"[We're] looking for that final piece of the puzzle going forward and [to] kick a really good score," he said.

The Bulldogs have conceded the fewest points after 11 rounds, but are 10th on the attack ladder, averaging 91 points a game.

Dickson said the performance against West Coast was an improvement on that against Collingwood, when it scored just six goals in the first three quarters, but there were still gains to be made.

"The forward chemistry was not the standard we wanted [against the Magpies]. We fixed a few things and it functioned a lot better," Dickson said.

"We missed a few opportunities [against the Eagles], but it is a work in progress and the more games we play together the better off we'll be."

Even Dickson was an offender on Sunday, missing a set shot despite his career record going into the game of 64.12.

He wasn't happy with himself.

"I got too close to the man on the mark and leant back on it and I knew as soon as I hit it, it wasn't a good kick," Dickson said.

"Don't worry, I'll be practising."

The underrated goal-kicker – he has kicked 62 goals in his past 30 games – said the team would also work on icing tight games after letting the Eagles back into Sunday's match.

"There were a couple of incidents where, having that three-goal buffer, we could have slowed the clock down or we could have done a few different things instead of just trying to go fast [and] score," Dickson said.

The Bulldogs had players running past for handballs or making hurried leads when more composure was required.

"We'll learn from that," Dickson said.

"You are going to have difficulties against every opponent, but we have set ourselves up for a really good second half of the year."