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While Western Bulldogs veteran Daniel Giansiracusa believes it's one of the most open AFL seasons in memory, he's not buying into talk of finals.
The Dogs surprised many by storming home with seven wins in their last 14 games last season and have been tipped as a 2014 bolter after adding Essendon forward Stewart Crameri to their list.
They've also benefitted from a soft draw, ranked as the easiest in the league by Champion Data - with no repeat matches against 2013 finalists.
Despite this, Giansiracusa said the club wouldn't confuse an outcome with the process of getting better.
"We're not talking about finals or anything like that, we just want to improve," he said.
"We expect to improve. What that relates to in terms of wins, I'm not sure.
"We think we've made some progress over the summer (but to make finals) you need a lot of luck and your list to be healthy."
That luck has yet to arrive with Robert Murphy ruled out for up to 10 weeks with an elbow injury while forward Jarrad Grant broke his foot last month.
On a "street blitz" of Footscray handing out free tickets for the club's first home game of the upcoming season, Giansiracusa couldn't recall a closer year than 2014.
"We want it to be close and supporters to go to every game thinking that their team can win, and that's healthy for footy."
He named fourth-year midfielder Tom Liberatore as a stand-out flyer during the pre-season.
Liberatore backed Giansiracusa's call for improvement but did admit the draw grew his belief the Bulldogs could improve beyond their eight wins last season.
There is one round that Giansiracusa is not looking forward to: round five for the names on jumpers trial.
A self-declared traditionalist on the issue, the 250-game veteran forward joked he might need to wear a sleeved guernsey to fit his 12-letter surname on.
"I don't know if mine's going to fit," he said.
"I like the way it is. Brent Harvey and Kevin Sheedy see it a different way but each to their own."
AAP
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