WESTERN Bulldogs captain Brad Johnson says his side has unfinished business and will go in firing against Geelong in next Friday night's preliminary final at the MCG.
The Bulldogs advanced to their first prelim since 1998 after beating the Sydney Swans by 37 points, a convincing turnaround from their 51-point loss to Hawthorn in the qualifying final.
"We will go in confident that we can win the game, as they will as well," Johnson said from Whitten Oval on Saturday morning.
"Of course, after last night, we will have that confidence. It's going to be a good game of footy and we're certainly keen to get the result.
"We're excited to be in this position and we want to capitalise on it. They (the Cats) have proved in the past couple of years they are the best team in the comp but, in saying that, they are a team that everyone strives to beat now."
Johnson added that the Dogs had improved in a lot of areas of the game and a well-rounded team performance was the reason for the victory.
"Last night we certainly played a lot better in our contested footy," he said.
"We were certainly proud of our performance and the group really stood up. Twenty-two players played extremely well last night."
There was pressure on the Bulldogs, who finished the home and away season in third spot, to rebound after the disappointment against the Hawks.
The Dogs had only won one game after beating the Swans in round 18, however, Johnson said a sense of achievement hadn't crept in yet.
"The relief will be if we win in a couple of weeks' time," he said.
The Dogs and Cats have met once this year, with the premier winning the Skilled Stadium clash by 61 points.
But Johnson said the pressure would be on Geelong next weekend. The Cats have only lost one game this year, but carry the expectations that accompany that form.
"We have got nothing to lose. Geelong are without a doubt favourites for this game but we will certainly be seeing ourselves as a strong contender, that’s for sure," Johnson said.
"We’ll be out there to give it our best shot and compete as hard as we can.
"And I am sure that if we do that, we’ll be in a position to win."
He added that the Dogs would benefit from playing in three consecutive Friday night finals.
"We have really got a good, set routine at the moment, especially coming off last week, [and it] is certainly working for us," Johnson said.
"The boys will take it easy for a couple of days and get our recovery right then lead into Monday with a light session and build it up a bit more as the week goes on."
Johnson, showing no effects of the sickening, accidental clash he had with Swan Martin Mattner on Friday night, expects to face a rotating blend of Cat defenders after having Josh Hunt and Tom Harley as direct opponents in recent clashes.
