The unfancied Bombers out-tackled the normally elusive Bulldogs, 75-69, on Friday night and Knights said their attack on the ball carrier was a catalyst for the nine-point victory.
"The last 10 minutes wasn't ideal but for the rest of the game, I thought the team played their hearts out," he said.
"The Bulldogs have been the least-tackled team in the league, averaging only 62 tackles against so we wanted to get at them more than that. I think we got 75 tackles, which is a credit to the playing group to embrace that philosophy tonight.
"We're proud that, yes, we are ranked No.1 in tackling for a team that people perceive is not that way.
"They can keep saying that if they like, as long as we know what we want to achieve internally and the way we're going about our footy."
Just as pleasing for Knights was the continued contribution of his younger players to the win. Leroy Jetta was outstanding through the midfield and finished with two goals, while Ben Howlett and David Myers also played important roles.
"We've put a lot of young forwards and young backs in the last two years but we've put some young midfielders in the last two or three weeks and it's been really pleasing. I think they've held their own," he said.
"The reality is that some players come in at 18, 19 years old and they're ready to play. Others take two or three years of development and you've just got to be patient."
Knights said there wasn't any tactical switch behind the Bombers' improved recent form; rather, they had simply implemented the existing game plan more effectively.
The result? Impressive wins against St Kilda, Carlton and now the Western Bulldogs.
"We haven't changed our program at all since what we were practising in pre-season," he said.
"What's changed is our execution of both sides of the game, as well as the players from the leadership group embracing how important both sides of the game are. I think it might be a slight shift in mindset, more than anything."
