In this week's Game Plan, Swans midfield coach Leigh Tudor, talks about the disappointment of last weekend's match against St Kilda and where the team will look to improve against the Bulldogs on Sunday...

Our round nine loss to the Saints was disappointing from a midfield perspective.

Despite our encouraging start to the game, we allowed St Kilda to kick too many goals from stoppages and also allowed them to out-body us - and we were unable to adjust accordingly.

What was also disappointing was that we failed to produce a four quarter effort, which is what let us down in our other losses this season. We know that four quarters of football is what we need if we’re going to put a win on the board this week.

Looking at the midfield group, we’ve been a bit up and down so far this season. Josh Kennedy has been a really consistent performer for us. Another player who has made an impact when he plays in the midfield is Ryan O’Keefe. He’s had a number of really solid performances over the last month.

Dan Hannebery has also put in a few good performances and so has Ben McGlynn, when he has moved into the midfield from the forward line.

We’ve certainly had games where we’ve played really well as a team and when we have managed that, we can certainly match it with anyone. What we need this week is the whole midfield to have a crack and have a go because we’re in for a tough game.

The Western Bulldogs, like St Kilda, has a very experienced midfield. In the last month, the Bulldogs have probably been number one for the contested ball, which means we’re going to be in for a highly contested match.

The Dogs really challenged the reigning premiers Geelong last week, which shows us they are a team on the rise.

Their new coach Brendan McCartney has come in and tried to get them to play his brand of football, which is contested ball and really about beating your direct opponent. With that in mind it’s going to be a game with a number of tough one-on-one battles. It’s going to be a case of whoever can get the ball first and use it well will be the team that wins the game.

What we need to do this week is get back to really basic football, which means every player plays their role and makes sure that at forward stoppages, mid stoppages and back stoppages that the whole 18 players on the ground are in the right position and doing what they’re meant to be doing.

When we’ve got 18 players all on song and 18 players playing the way we want them to play, then we’ve got a really competitive side.

We’re looking to lift our intensity this week and play a consistent four quarters of football, and hopefully get back on the winners’ list.