VERSATILE defender Ryan Hargrave believes his Western Bulldogs teammates are finally finding their true form after a slow start to the 2007 season.

Boasting five wins from eight matches, the Bulldogs had a spirited 33-point victory against Collingwood on Sunday and meet Sydney at Canberra’s Manuka Oval in round nine.

“We’ve been building this season so far,” Hargrave said.

“We’ve had a few guys that started a bit slower and Aker’s (Jason Akermanis) taken a little while to get going and a few other guys have taken their time to get going.“And we’ve had guys that have been injured like Brian Harris who came back. So we knew we were going to build into the year a little bit.”

Hargrave commended the performance of former Brisbane triple premiership player Akermanis, who has had an indifferent start to the season. The Brownlow Medallist was instrumental in turning the match for the Bulldogs and had 17 touches, including two goals, against the Pies.

“He was fantastic yesterday. When the game was there to be won, he turned it around for us, getting a couple of goals so he’s an important player for us,” Hargrave said.

The defender says that Aker has already found his feet at the club.

“Usually it would take a bit longer for somebody else, but the personality that Aker has, it doesn’t take him long. I think he’s a pretty interesting fella and he gets along with all the guys which is good,” Hargrave said.

The 25-year-old praised the form of the team’s up and coming players.

“Shaun Higgins and Dylan Addison were very good. There was a ball that was a 50-50 and he (Dylan) was 10 metres away and the Collingwood player was five and Dylan won it. That sort of set the scene and turned things around for us in the second half. It’s rejuvenating the side, it’s really good to have those young guys stepping up,” Hargrave said.

Hargrave says the team is hoping to carry the momentum from Sunday’s win into next week’s clash against the Swans at Manuka.

“We played pretty well in Canberra in the pre-season. It’s better than playing them at home at the SCG so it’s more of a 50-50 chance,” he said.

“They’re flying. A lot of people counted Sydney out earlier on in the week but you can’t count a team like Sydney out, they’re a quality side.”