The blood, sweat and tears of the pre-season will begin to pay dividends tonight, when the Western Bulldogs go head to head with St Kilda in their first NAB Challenge clash for 2014.

Assistant Coach Rohan Smith said the energy around the kennel was uplifting as the Club prepared to do battle with one of their long-time rivals.

“They start pre-season in November and all you just really work for is the games,” Smith said.

“Coming into this week you can really see the excitement levels that they boys are going to get out there and play.”

While the Bulldogs head into every game aiming to win, Smith said the players will predominantly be measured on how they implement new game strategies and have improved on last year.

“It is not the result, we just want to improve and want to work on all the things we have worked on all of pre-season,” Smith said.

“That’s the best way we can sum up… [It’s] NAB Challenge,  [we will] look to improve every single week and get ready for round one.”

The opportunity to test their learnings from the pre-season against another team adds to the excitement, but Smith said St Kilda would also be desperate to show improved form.

“They’ve got a new coach and they will be looking to impress, so it will be a really good hitout for us,” he said.