When it comes to teamwork, Western Bulldogs Senior Coach Brendan McCartney is a firm believer that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

That team-oriented focus has paid dividends in the Bulldogs back-to-back wins, with a number of players impressing with their willingness to put the team first.

“Our last two weeks have shown a lot of character and we have been confident for a while that what we value is right,” he said.

“We feel we are starting to find some people who also value those things and they are getting rewarded for it and they are getting opportunities.”

Both wins against Richmond and GWS Giants have been decided in the dying minutes, with the Bulldogs holding their nerve when it mattered most.

“It’s been a tough two weeks – even tonight (against GWS Giants) was hard work,” he said.

“It wasn’t until I looked at the clock with three minutes to go and thought ‘we are probably doing enough here to be ok’ - whereas last week it was the last three seconds.

“We move onto next week and see what we can do again.”

McCartney said players would essentially pick themselves in the side week to week, based on their behaviours and effort.

“We give good opportunities to young people who are strong and tough and team based,” he said.

“They generally come into the team with those behaviours and more than likely they stay in the team because they are what we want.”