The Western Bulldogs need to build on the competitiveness of the last fortnight so their recent efforts are not in vain, Robert Murphy says.

Strong showings against top two sides Essendon and Hawthorn in recent weeks buoyed the Club veteran, as the Bulldogs continue to make progressive steps forward in their rebuild.

“The last two weeks of effort aren’t worth much if you can’t build on them,” he said.

“[If] we rock out next week and don’t show up and get blown off the park, well it really sully’s the efforts, you’ve got to put big chunks of work in.

“We aren’t trying to jag a win here or there, we are trying to build a season and trying to build an era, so we need to keep the head down and keep the foot on the gas.”

Murphy said the Bulldogs stood their ground against the top of the table side and were able to put in place defensive structures to curb Hawthorn’s momentum.

While lapses in concentration have proved costly for the Bulldogs in the past, the veteran said the young side was becoming better equipped to counter the opposition’s attacks, evidenced on Saturday against Hawthorn.

“My overriding sense of the game was we were up to our eyeballs in the contest and I think, at times, we made life pretty difficult for Hawthorn,” Murphy said.

“Our little lapses tend to let other sides into score just too easily, but those lapses are becoming smaller and smaller and we are in the contest for longer periods.”