Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade says the hard work still lies ahead if the club is to pull off the AFL's version of The Great Escape.
Talk of finals action was a pipedream just a month ago at Whitten Oval when the Bulldogs boasted a 3-8 win-loss record.
Fast-forward to the present and the bark has well and truly returned.
Four consecutive wins, the most recent against top-four hopefuls Carlton, and the Bulldogs are back in town.
But Eade doesn't want his side to pop their heads out of the tunnel for a glimpse of where they are, rather he wants them to build on the momentum and burrow on to reaching September - starting with Sunday's clash against North Melbourne.
"The guys are up and about a bit, but we know we've dug ourselves a hole and we're slowly climbing out of it," Eade said.
"The mood's always been OK and I think morale's been pretty good actually (all the way through). Obviously when you win you get a bit more confidence and a bit more belief."
"It's really going to be a week by week (thing), we've got a good opponent this week, so that's our focus."
The veteran coach knows the situation North finds themselves in this week after their 117-point capitulation to Collingwood.
Eade expects the Kangaroos who, like the Bulldogs, are chasing a finals berth to bounce back.
"We were beaten by 100 (plus) points (against West Coast) early in the year and you make a stand the next week - every team in that situation does," Eade said.
"Players feel embarrassed about it, we were early in the year. It was a bit of an aberration for them because their form's been pretty good, even their losses have been very close."
Two key planks in the Bulldogs' winning run have been the form of Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney and the emergence of teenager Luke Dahlhaus.
Cooney is averaging 27 touches per game in the past three weeks, while in just five games Dahlhaus has become a cult figure for his long locks and a crucial member of the Bulldogs' forward set-up due to his pressure acts.
"Luke's been doing it (forward pressure) for 4-5 weeks now, Hoops (Andrew Hooper) has been good for a couple of weeks and Jarrad Grant was good last week for that as well," Eade said.
"At the start of the year we were quite a slow forward line, but now we've got a bit of pace in the forward line, that helps with the defensive acts."
Key forward Barry Hall came off the track early on Thursday as a precautionary measure, but will play.
The latest instalment of the Brian Lake saga is somewhat optimistic as he recovers from a calf complaint, with Eade forecasting an AFL return later in the year.
"Brian's probably a 1-2 week calf, it gives us a bit of time to put strength in his knee and do some other things," Eade said.
"If we're lucky enough to make the finals, we think we've got enough time to get him right and him to be a plus for us at the right time."