Equipped with a nine-day break following last week’s win over the Bulldogs, Essendon are preparing for a key run of games to cap off their season.

Looking to build from a four-game win streak – the longest in the club’s AFLW history – the Dons’ final three games begin in the form of ladder leaders North Melbourne at Windy Hill on Sunday, the first time the two clubs have faced off in the competition.

The Bombers’ final fixture at their spiritual home this year presents a challenge which Assistant Coach Bernard Shepheard is keen for the playing group to tackle.

“It’s a great opportunity for us (off) four wins in-a-row. We feel like we’re in really good form coming up against North Melbourne,” Shepheard told essendonfc.com.au’s The Last Word.

“In terms of North Melbourne, for us we know that different oppositions are going to give us different challenges and we’re going to have to find different ways to play, we feel like we’ve built that over the last few weeks.

“We’re going to have to bring all of that for (the Kangaroos), it’s not necessarily one thing or the other. It’s going to be our ability to adjust in-game to what’s happening, make sure we’re staying focused on how we want to play.

“It’s our final game at Windy Hill as well, which is a great opportunity to have another game in front of our fans.”

Following a fourth game in the space of just 15 days, the Bombers have owned the taxing demands of the midweek footy period and focused on building their connection as a group over that time.

A hard-fought, albeit scrappy 23-point win over the Bulldogs on Friday night finished that stretch which also included an interstate fixture against Gold Coast just five days prior, where the group’s ability to adjust under pressure shining through.

“It's been a really challenging period for everyone involved, I mentioned the travel but throughout that time, we’ve spent so much time together as a group,” Shepheard said.

“I feel like we’ve seen each other every day, there’s an element where we feel really connected, we haven’t had the opportunity to train as much but we’ve had to review and preview really quickly to get into games. We feel like we’ve grown as a football team and as a club throughout that time.

“To walk away with the four points (against the Bulldogs) is great. It certainly wasn’t the prettiest game of football, the opposition made it challenging for us and we had to find different ways to move the ball through, which we’re not necessarily used to. The pleasing thing from the group is they were able to adjust and particularly in the last quarter, get the game on our terms.

“Now we get a nine-day break which everyone is excited about but we’re going into a really important part of the season as well. Yes, (we) get that mental freshen up, but equally we need to stay focused on what’s coming up in the next few weeks.”

The Bombers’ Sunday afternoon matchup with the Roos kicks off from 3:05pm at Windy Hill.