There is no tougher opponent, nor a grander stage.
If the Western Bulldogs are to advance beyond the AFL semi finals, they will need to bring down one of the great teams of the modern era.
The Bulldogs will be fearless against Hawthorn in a do-or-die battle at the MCG, but the Hawks are no run-of-the-mill opponent.
The Hawks are not only playing for their survival, they are playing to keep their dreams of a four-peat alive.
Only one side has achieved four flags in a row in VFL/AFL history and you have to go all the way back to Collingwood from 1927-30.
Hawthorn will go into this game as favourites because of their finals experience, but the Bulldogs will be licking their lips to have a crack at the defending champions.
The Bulldogs made history of their own on Thursday night, claiming victory in an interstate final for the first time, when they thrashed West Coast Eagles by 47 points at Domain Stadium.
It was further proof of the Bulldogs ability to win away from Etihad Stadium this season.
The manner of the win though is what has suddenly propelled the Bulldogs back into contention.
As the season wore on and the injuries piled up, the Bulldogs were starting to become a bit of an afterthought in the premiership talk.
It might still be the case in some circles, but if they can down Hawthorn at the home of football next weekend, the deepest imaginable finals run might be a possibility, not that Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge is looking that far ahead.
“You’ve got to keep thinking about the sudden death of it all and just focusing on the next final,” he said.
“You can’t look beyond that.”
After losing to Fremantle in the last home and away round, the Bulldogs had a timely return to form against in-form West Coast.
It was the kind of showing that had the Bulldogs in the discussions about a potential top-four finish in the early part of the season.
The Bulldogs trademark pressure around the packs was turned up to maximum, their skill level was much better than recent games and they played with a daring style that had been absent since the early rounds.
Beveridge has massive belief in his players, but even he was taken aback by the way the Bulldogs ruthlessly ripped apart the Eagles on their home deck.
“We haven’t really broken a game open for a long time,” he said.
“We were a little bit adventurous and reasonably aggressive with what we did.
“We’ve been average in recent times with our ball use or skill … we’ve been way off where we should be.
“Tonight was back to some of our very best stuff, so that’s encouraging.”
How good would it be if the Bulldogs and Hawthorn delivered a classic like they did back in round three?
In one of the games of the season, the Hawks got the spoils by three points on that occasion at Etihad Stadium, with western suburbs boy James Sicily kicking the winning goal.
Let’s hope for a contest from the same mould.
