Rodney Eade has issued the challenge to his under-performing Western Bulldogs ahead of Friday night's knockout semi-final against Sydney at the MCG - saying his team's progress this season will count for nothing if the Dogs don't beat the Swans this week.
The Bulldogs are in danger of becoming only the third top-four team to bow out in straight sets in the finals, since the current finals system began in 2000, against a finals-hardened Sydney team competing in its sixth straight September campaign.
After winning 13 and drawing one of its first 15 matches - the club's best start to a season ever - the Bulldogs have lost six of their past eight games and were humiliated by 51 points by Hawthorn in last week's second qualifying final.
And Eade says a loss on Friday night would place a question mark on just how much the club has improved this season - even though it recorded its highest number of wins in a home and away season (15 and a draw) since 1992 in finishing third on the ladder.
"The season we have had we won 15 home and away games and played some good footy but to go out in straight sets would make it a hollow season," Eade said at the Whitten Oval on Tuesday.
Eade said he believes the current team is better than the one which scraped into the finals in 2006, but also reached the semi-final stage after thrashing Collingwood in the first elimination final, but they now have to prove it.
"We have to win (on Friday night) to take that step forward (from 2006)," he said.
While Eade has spent much of the past few days trying to re-build the confidence of his team, which was so badly beaten by Hawthorn last week, he said it was up to his players to 'make a stand' on Friday night.
"I think we are all accountable for our actions and the players as a group need to stand up for what they did on Friday night," he said.
"I think it's more being able to face up to challenges and teams and individuals over the years make their names when the heat is on and you can't gloss over that."
"It's about being able to look that (challenge) straight in the eyes and meet that challenge head on and it's a big challenge for us."
Eade, whose side has already beaten the Swans twice this season, is also hoping the club's fans will also forgive last week's loss and come out in droves on Friday night for what is the Bulldogs' first match against Sydney in Melbourne for 10 years.
"Obviously our supporters were disappointed with last Friday night's performance but we are hoping they will get there en masse and hopefully we will have a home crowd behind us as well as the home ground advantage," he said.
The experienced Bulldogs coach - a member of four Hawthorn premiership teams as a player - admits some of his players may have suffered from finals 'jitters' against the Hawks but denies his club's lack of tall players meant its style of footy was not suited to September.
"Our style of footy is not that much different (to other teams)," he said.
"Over the first 15 weeks we were winning the contested ball but we have dropped off in that area