Two wins in a row and we're knocking on the door of the eight.

Despite a slow start against the Hawks, we managed to get on top and stay on top, and have given ourselves a double hit of winning momentum to take into next week's tough assignment against the premiers.

It's great to get another four points – and move equal with six other teams as far as premiership points are concerned – and also to see Luke Darcy and Robert Murphy snare multiple goals for the second week running.

As Dogs supporters, we won't complain about the win, regardless of how it was obtained.

As general footy fans, it's hard to ignore the fact we still aren't firing on all cylinders, and will need to lift next week if we are to contend with the Eagles.

The Hawks let us off the hook on numerous occasions. Their return of 3.7 in the first term could have meant we trailed by more than four goals going into the first change, rather than the seven-point lead that flattered our opening quarter.

Then our own final-term contribution of 0.7 put a definite dampener on the afternoon.

The Hawks made mistakes and as a result, we got by and managed to claim the win. Things won't be so easy against a side like West Coast.

But enough of the negatives. We did win, after all. Let's talk about Scott West. How is it that a 32-year-old, seven-time best-and-fairest winner, is still able to get the ball as much as he does each week?

This year, West has had less than 30 possessions only twice. In those two weeks, he had 29. On the weekend, he had 41 and laid seven tackles.

He's averaged over 30 touches a game and measured up more than well against a player eight years his junior on the weekend. Is this man ever going to slow down?

Murph kicked three and Darce two, which will continue to boost their self-belief, while young gun Shaun Higgins bobbed up for three of his own. Up the other end, Brian Harris racked up a career-high bag of touches and was formidable on Jarryd Roughead.

With plenty of encouraging individual performances to heighten our enthusiasm, the only concern now is just how much we need to work on our consistency in time for next weekend's collision with the Eagles.

Last time we met them at Subi – and the less said about that, the better, really – we lost by 74 points in the semi-final.

As far as endeavour is concerned, we'll have learned from our round two and three defeats.

From ‘that’ loss late last year, we can only hope we've learned how hard at it and consistent we need to be on a regular basis in order to contend with sides like the Eagles.

We cannot afford to miss easy shots, or allow them to dictate proceedings through the middle. They are a superb outfit, especially over in Perth in front of their own.

They played at almost half-pace against the Tigers, and still managed to get the job done. Their composure under pressure and dogged work ethic – even when the side isn't completely firing – is one we should strive to replicate.

Last year, the Eagles showed us how far we had to go before we are considered a power team of the competition. This year, let's show them how much we've improved since.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.