There will be no shortage of defensive pressure and intensity around the contests, as the Western Bulldogs take on Fremantle tonight at Etihad Stadium.

The Bulldogs are relishing the chance to test their skills against last year’s grand finalists and Assistant Coach Steven King said Fremantle would provide the ideal test.

“It’s a terrific opportunity for us, coming up against a top two side,” King said.

“I think they will come out this week [and] up the ante again and have a real dress rehearsal for them for round one - for us it is just a great opportunity to see where we are at.”

The midfield assistant coach said the Bulldogs’ approach to their second NAB Challenge game would still predominantly focus on tweaking their own game plan and preparing for season proper.

“Obviously you take notice of what the opposition can and can’t do,” he said.

“But clearly we want to… work on a few areas that we want… to bring out in the season ahead as well.”

King said the match up against Fremantle will also test the Club’s young brigade and see who can stand up against the relentless defensive pressure of the top tier side. 

“For young players it is easy to do some things at training, it’s a different ball-game when it is out there in the heat of battle,” he said.

“We will get the opportunity to look at who can perform under real pressure and [in] the heat of the game and what works for us.”

Looking to build on last week’s 11 point win over St Kilda, King said a focus this week has been on maintaining intensity across the entire game.

“We’d just like to see that continued effort for four quarters,” he said.

“It’s going to be a tough challenge this week against some really big, experienced bodies but we just want to get out on the front foot, have a go, see where we are at.

“Just show our supporters that we are going to turn up to play every game.”