(Dean Sherr is a Geelong fan and BPL Citizen Journalist.)

As the Western Bulldogs' soul-searching continues after another disappointing loss to a genuine contender, their minds will no doubt be cast back to a fateful Saturday evening a little over nine months ago - their last meeting with this week's opponents, Geelong, at Etihad Stadium.

After a lively start which saw the Dogs take a slim yet seemingly ominous early lead (3.1 to 1.0 at the 18-minute mark), the Cats slammed home 14 unanswered goals to a solitary Bulldog behind, before going on to record a demoralising 101-point win. (That's them, pictured above, trudging off the field.)

While the Dogs were decimated by injury and illness in the latter stages of 2010, that loss signalled the end of their premiership credentials in a year that had promised so much, yet ultimately delivered so little. A night premiership win over 2009 grand finalist, St Kilda, handed them early flag favouritism but, for a third year running, the Dogs failed to clear the penultimate hurdle.

Their weakness, as had been the case across their run in the top four from 2008-2010, was their inability to overcome their fellow contenders. In that period, the Dogs faced their fellow top-four sides a total of 19 times, winning just five of those encounters - three in 2008 (one against eventual premiers Hawthorn and two against fourth-placed St Kilda) and two in '09 (one against the Cats who essentially had nothing to play for with a top-two spot sewn up and another against the fourth-placed Magpies.)

Of further note was the Dogs' failure to win close games - not only to top sides, but also to bottom-four sides such as Essendon and West Coast.

It is a damning indictment on a team that, for three straight years, made it deep into September action, dazzling viewers with an entertaining brand of fast-paced, high-scoring football. What the Dogs lacked in height they made up for with quick ball movement, a star-studded midfield which, at its best, was superior to St Kilda's and a backline which was probably better than Collingwood's (not to mention Hawthorn's).

Yet 10 rounds into season 2011, the Dogs find themselves entrenched in the bottom eight; a record of 3-6 contrary, once again, to many pundits' predictions of another top-four finish and a serious tilt at that elusive second flag for old Footscray.

The question then must be asked: ‘Are the Dogs simply not good enough, or is there something else at play?'

The inescapable conclusion from all this is not that the Dogs lack the quality to take that next step, but rather their ticker. Why their skill disappears in tight games against fellow contenders is a mystery only the Dogs can (and must) solve - not for the coaching career of Rodney Eade, but for themselves.

Now, tired minds join ageing bodies, while younger, hungrier sides overtake the Dogs. Of great frustration it must be to Eade's men that after such endeavour, and being one win off the greatest stage in football three years running, that next step has never been taken.

Every other side that has made the top four in that three year period has made at least one Grand Final, despite the fact that the Dogs have finished above all bar Geelong at least once in that time.

Now three sides, side by side on the ladder for three consecutive years find themselves in suddenly contrasting situations - the Cats on top and undefeated, the Saints and Dogs languishing in the bottom eight. In the next month, they will all face off against each other as we seek a true indication of whether yesterday's heroes can be today's fighters. For the Dogs, winning can never be more vital as they seek to revive a season terribly off track.

This week, they return to face the side that gave their last campaign a shattering wakeup call which they failed to answer. To make matters worse, the venue this time is Skilled Stadium, where Geelong has won 25 in a row.

Now more than ever, the Dogs need to show some heart, just as the Saints did last Saturday at Subiaco, otherwise they face heading off into the sunset with nothing to show from a three-year run most (of us) expected more from.