WESTERN Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade says resolve has been the catalyst for his side's unbeaten start to the 2008 season.

Eade, celebrating his 50th birthday, watched his young charges turn a 37-point quarter-time deficit into a memorable 38-point win against a highly-fancied St Kilda at Telstra Dome.

It was the second time in three weeks the Dogs have overcome a significant deficit after coming from four goals back to beat Adelaide in round one.

"In all three games we've shown a resolve to be able to keep working for the whole game," Eade said.

"[Tonight] was a good win because it was against good opposition. They've had the wood on us through probably height and physicality at times and I think to be able to answer that challenge and match them in a lot of areas was pleasing."

Trailing by six goals at the first change Eade said he could see light at the end of the tunnel provided the side dispensed with costly skill errors.

"I didn't think it was doom and gloom at quarter time because there is a pretty strong resolve within the group and I was confident about that," he said.

"I thought our effort was reasonable early but we missed some targets and our execution going inside 50 turned it over.

"It wasn't me that turned them around. Full credit to the players."

Eade singled-out defender Dale Morris for special praise after the 25-year-old restricted Saint skipper Nick Riewoldt to 10 possessions and two goals, both of which came in the first term.

Morris, together with Brian Lake, Ryan Hargrave and Lindsay Gilbee, kept the Saints to 13 goals after conceding seven in the opening term.

"I'm not amazed by anything with Dale," Eade said. "He's got a great constitution with his ability to persevere. Even if he gets beaten he always gives you a contest and that's something we are trying to educate players across the board.

"It's no shame in getting beaten, it's no shame in playing poorly, but there is some downside to not having an effort or a contest.

"Dale is a real leader of the defence and while he's playing undersized, his preparedness to back his ability and his body as well was great for the side."

Morris is just one of the many young leaders emerging from Whitten Oval. Eade said the signs of leadership were evident as far back as last season despite the side ending 2007 with six losses and a draw from its final seven games.

"There were signs last year the leadership group was heading in the right direction and that's been evident over summer and certainly in the opening three games," he said.

He was also quick to use the seven-goal win to implore unsigned members to do sign up in the coming week.

The Dogs face Essendon, Richmond and West Coast – all at Telstra Dome – in the next three rounds.

"The fact we've got 8,000 members who haven't re-signed who have probably been sitting on the fence a bit, but I think tonight's effort has shown them that, as a supporter, you'd like the players to hang in there and show some fight, but certainly we'd like the supporters to hang in there with us," he said.

"There's a lot of impressive figures from other clubs and I think our supporters now can get on board because we need them." 

The only sour note to the win occurred pre-game with the news emerging star Shaun Higgins would miss 14 weeks with an ankle injury.

The 20-year-old injured his ankle in last week's win over Melbourne and, along with Farren Ray, Jarrad Grant and Andrejs Everitt, is one of four first-round draft selections of the Dogs currently out of the side.