Having revived their AFL season last time they travelled outside of Melbourne, the Western Bulldogs hope to repeat the magic in Brisbane.

Sunday’s clash with the third-placed Lions at the Gabba is a must-win for the Bulldogs, who sit ninth on the ladder with a chasing pack at their heels.

Coach Luke Beveridge says the Dogs will draw upon their round 15 visit to Adelaide Oval, where they downed Port Adelaide in heavy rain to climb back into finals contention.

Sunday will mark just the third time the Dogs have faced Brisbane at the Gabba under Beveridge’s tenure.

“Times have changed now for them. They’re obviously going a hell of a lot better,” Beveridge told reporters on Friday.

“And I imagine there’s a bit more atmosphere for them with their home games and the crowds they’re getting in for them, and that’s great for them.

“It probably hasn’t got to Optus (Stadium) and Adelaide Oval proportions yet but hopefully it will for them over the journey. We’ll be prepared for the fact that there’ll be a parochial home crowd.

“The recent memory of our Port Adelaide win is a good one for us. It’ll help give us that little bit of insight into what we can do when we’re up against that sort of mob.”

Since their win over Port, the Bulldogs have won three out of four games – all at Marvel Stadium.

But just one win separates them from the Power, Hawthorn, Fremantle and St Kilda, leaving little margin for error over the home stretch.

“We’ll go up there knowing full well how important and critical this game is in the scheme of the season,” Beveridge said.

“They’re going really well Brisbane, in so many areas.

“We had a good outing against them earlier on in the year (in Ballarat in round eight). These days, week to week, you’ve got a pretty solid insight into the way opposition teams do things.

“They’ve discovered their own formula and it’s really working for them.”