Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli believes his side has "the largest scope to improve" across the competition after falling short of a finals finish in 2023.
Since their grand final defeat three years ago, the Dogs have struggled to contend for the premiership - bowing out early in September of 2022 before amassing a ninth-placed finish last year.
With a list that has the ceiling to go the distance, the past 24 months have been frustrating for the Bulldogs and their fans, and their skipper is ready to right the wrongs in 2024.
Speaking on Monday, Bontempelli said the playing group is looking to "tighten up" key areas of their game and hopefully reduce the gap between their top stars and depth players.
"I think we could have been better, for sure. To say we're the most underperformed might be a bit harsh considering there's still aspects of our game that have relatively improved," Bontempelli said in response to criticism of the club's past two seasons.
"To reframe it, I hope we've got the largest scope to improve. And I think we do.
"That's probably what the focus is, trying to tighten up the aspects of our game that probably weren't up to scratch from a competition perspective and look to the guys who can probably help us with that.
"I think there were some pretty strong seasons from a number of boys last year. It's just about how we bridge the gap probably between those that really outperformed and the depth in our group that I think can still increase."
Another season without a September showing is sure to mount pressure on senior coach Luke Beveridge, who is contracted until the end of next year at the Kennel.
The off-season has brought unwanted attention to the premiership coach, with reports of tension between Beveridge and football boss Chris Grant adding to the early chapters of a critical campaign for the Dogs and their leading man.
But the additions of Daniel Pratt and Matthew Egan, among others, have seen the immense workload on Beveridge's shoulders lifted, giving the 53-year-old the ability to place more attention on coaching priorities and become more available to his players.
"I've probably noticed, to some extent, more availability for sure. At different points, he's had a lot on his plate and tries to manage a lot of our program," Bontempelli said of Beveridge.
"But I feel like with the new people that have come in, he's definitely been afforded an opportunity to focus on some other things, which I think is great. I can feel the optimism and the energy and his positivity towards our football season.
"He always was heavily invested, but maybe he just gets a bit more time now to focus centrally on his No.1 role at the football club, which is to coach it really well and obviously connect with our players.
"It feels like he's in a great space and I think we're all going to benefit from that."
An uninterrupted pre-season at Whitten Oval has also been a major boost for the Bulldogs to start this year, with the venue's finalised redevelopment now not impeding the players' program.
Last summer, as their training base underwent a facelift, the Dogs were required to train at Skinner Reserve and would be pulled back and forth from their main facility.
For Bontempelli and his teammates, the 'seamless' pre-season so far has buoyed the Bulldogs ahead of their new campaign.
"I feel like we've really advanced our football program, which is a really good thing for all of us as players," he said.
"But one of the biggest differences for us is probably the facility and how things are flowing this pre-season.
"We had some challenges last year as (the redevelopment) was going on. Training at Skinner, in and out of our own facility that sort of got retrofitted.
"It became just a touch of a challenge at times from a flow perspective. So I feel like if anything that's helped our pre-season just move quite seamlessly from one aspect of the program to another."
The Bulldogs' 2024 campaign will open against Melbourne on Sunday, March 17 at the MCG.
