THE WESTERN Bulldogs survived a late comeback from West Coast to win a game that never should have been so tight by just eight points.

The Bulldogs looked home, leading by 21 points and in control with eight minutes to go, before three goals in four minutes to the Eagles suddenly turned the contest into a thriller. 

It took some class from skipper Marcus Bontempelli – who led the team in absence of Easton Wood, out late due to hamstring tightness – to create a snapped goal from Tom Liberatore to steady the ship. 

When the siren went the relieved Western Bulldogs were just ahead 12.11 (83) to West Coast's 11.9 (75) and in the top four.

The Bulldogs dominated territory and had 122 disposals more than West Coast but could not hold off the brave Eagles who just kept coming, particularly given they lost Jeremy McGovern to illness before the game. 

However the Bulldogs would have been kicking themselves to lose as they missed three gettable set shots in the final quarter that would have put the result beyond doubt.

Even the ever-reliable Tory Dickson – who has kicked 64.13 in his career from set shots – missed a gilt-edged chance during the last quarter.

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said he thought his team was sensational despite creating a little bit of drama late due to a lack of composure.

"It was a real arm wrestle for most of the day and then when we gapped them a little bit late in the last quarter … I thought we just needed to compose the ball a little bit and settle ourselves down so it was a very interesting last stanza," Beveridge said.

"We sent ourselves into chaos too many times and put pressure on ourselves when we needed to be a little bit more composed so hopefully we learn from that."

The Bulldogs looked to have found the edge midway through the third quarter when Lachie Hunter, a brilliant performer with 38 disposals, began a run of four unanswered goals, three from sons of former guns that broke the deadlock.

The goal from Hunter (son of Mark) was followed by goal from Liam Picken (son of Billy) and Tom Liberatore (son of Tony) before Tom Campbell extended the lead to 21 points, the biggest margin for the game.

Up until Hunter's third quarter goal, the Bulldogs were dominating contested possession (they ended the match with 38 more) and the game was being played in their forward half but they could not score. 

Bontempelli was classy, the Bulldogs talls inside 50 were marking the ball and Jake Stringer – who kicked a brilliant banana goal in the second quarter – was clean and lively. 

When the Eagles won centre clearances they looked dangerous although Josh Kennedy was restricted to just five touches and one late goal by Marcus Adams.

The Eagles had tried to exploit the Bulldogs' lack of height in defence early, kicking the ball high and long forward. 

However the Dogs lifted their defensive efforts in the second quarter, putting more pressure on the Eagles' ball carrier and forcing them to hurry their kicks forward. 

It allowed Fletcher Roberts, Dale Morris and Matthew Suckling to stop their opponents from marking inside 50, which made the Bulldogs dangerous as their midfielders were winning the ball when it hit the ground. 

The Bulldogs were dominating disposals in the second quarter and created six set shots but could only kick 2.4 with Jack Redpath, Hunter and Jordan Roughead unable to convert gettable shots. 

McGovern's absence hurt with West Coast coach Adam Simpson saying the Eagles allowed the Bulldogs too many marks inside 50.

"I'm not disappointed in the first half of the year," Simpson said.

"We're playing some really good sides on the road. Clearly we're not up to those sides at the moment.

"Whether we play them at home or on the road it doesn't matter, we're just not at that level yet. I thought we took a small step forward in terms of our effort and our intensity."

In the end the Bulldogs did enough to win but they will sweat on the availability of Toby McLean, who injured his foot in the second quarter, and need to clean up their conversion rate to contend.