Absolutely, Bulldogs coach Dean Harding says.

“No doubt this is our biggest game, and the next game after the bye against the Raiders will probably then be our biggest,” he said.

The Bulldogs are gunning for their second straight win and fifth place on the ladder against Yarrawonga this afternoon, but the jury is still out on whether they are the real deal this season, after poor losses to Wangaratta and Lavington in the past month.

They looked to have turned a corner a fortnight ago against North Albury, and fought to their first win in five matches last weekend against Wangaratta Rovers, a sign the Bulldogs was far from finished.

“To be honest, the feeling around the club has been no different now to when we were going through that bad patch,” the coach said.

“Our work on the training track has been excellent, the numbers we’ve had here at training have been outstanding.

“The enthusiasm and vibe around the place is great.

“We can see that good things are going to happen on the ground.”

While the Dogs will lose promising young tall Mitch King to the Murray Bushrangers, they have regained captain Sam Maher, who has been playing in the reserves for the past two weeks.

The absence of Brendan Fevola due to a broken foot is an advantage for Wodonga, but Harding remained wary of the the Pigeons’ depth.

“Fevola being out doesn’t make a whole lot of difference, to be honest,” he said.

“Obviously when he’s in the side we need to try our best to stop the supply of ball to him, and it’ll be the same with Kayne (Pettifer).

“I’m sure the likes of Ednie and a few others will find their way down there at various stages, so that will be something to be mindful of.”

While team defence is the cornerstone of Wodonga’s game plan, Harding didn’t want his player to go into their shells, nor were there any plans to tag the likes of Tyler Bonat or Xavier Leslie.

“We need to play the game on our terms,” Harding said.

“We need to back ourselves at the contest, we want to take them on and kick a winning score.”

“It’s time for brave footy.”