41 Facts About Western Bulldogs

1.

Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League, the sport's premier competition.

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2.

Western Bulldogs went into the 1954 VFL season as premiership contenders.

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3.

Things hit an all-time low in 1982; the Western Bulldogs lost their opening round match to Essendon by 109 points and by the middle of the season, with only one win in 12 games and having lost the last eight matches, Hart was sacked and replaced with player Ian Hampshire, who promptly quit his playing duties.

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4.

One of the few bright spots in an otherwise dreary season was the performance of Western Bulldogs Australian recruit Simon Beasley, who kicked 82 goals for the season and proved himself one of the best full-forwards in the competition.

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5.

Western Bulldogs would go on to become the Bulldogs' record goalkicker.

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6.

Western Bulldogs decided the best way forward was a merger with Fitzroy, which was in a weak financial position, although was not facing immediate bankruptcy.

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7.

Western Bulldogs began the new decade in promising fashion, finishing in seventh place with twelve wins in 1990, including one against eventual premiers Collingwood, when rover Steven Kolyniuk ran around the man on the mark and kicked a goal to put his team in front.

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8.

In 1994 and 1995, the Western Bulldogs again made the finals, only to be eliminated by Melbourne and Geelong, respectively.

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9.

The Western Bulldogs eventfully lost by 68 points against the reigning premiers who went on to claim their second consecutive premiership in the grand final that following week.

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10.

Western Bulldogs would make their third consecutive top 4 finish in 1999 but they suffered consecutive finals losses to West Coast and Brisbane.

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11.

The Western Bulldogs missed out on the finals over the next two seasons; in 2001, six players were in New York City during the September 11 attacks while they were attending the 2001 US Open.

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12.

Improvement was immediate, with the Western Bulldogs winning 11 games and finishing ninth on the ladder in 2005, missing out on the finals by just half a game.

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13.

In 2006, the Western Bulldogs continued to play well despite a disastrous run of injuries throughout the year; with five players having to have knee reconstructions, including captain Luke Darcy.

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14.

In 2008, the Western Bulldogs were widely predicted for the bottom four after the pre-season, but had a successful home-and-away season, finishing in third place with fifteen wins, one draw and six losses .

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15.

The Western Bulldogs lost their preliminary final match against reigning premiers Geelong.

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16.

The Western Bulldogs then notched up their first away win against Adelaide since 2001, kicking eight goals to one in the third quarter to win by 32 points.

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17.

The Western Bulldogs managed win by 24 points, earning the right to play Geelong in the first week of the finals.

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18.

However, after a promising pre-season, the Western Bulldogs failed to make their first grand final in 49 years after being demolished by Collingwood in the first round of the finals, coming back against the Sydney Swans and losing again to St Kilda in the preliminary final, captain Brad Johnson's last game.

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19.

The Western Bulldogs lost 9 of their first 12 games, including 7 from 8 games between Rounds 5 and 12.

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20.

The Western Bulldogs finished 2011 with a 9-win, 13-loss record for the season.

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21.

In 2013, the Western Bulldogs ended their affiliation with Williamstown Football Club, establishing a reserves team in the Victorian Football League for the 2014 season.

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22.

Western Bulldogs later cited the stress of captaincy as his reason for nearly giving up the game altogether.

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23.

However, the Western Bulldogs exceeded expectations to finish the home-and-away season in sixth position to feature in the finals for the first time since 2010.

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24.

Western Bulldogs fought through numerous injuries in 2016 to finish 7th in the home and away season.

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25.

Defying expectations that they would again miss the finals, the Western Bulldogs were one of the surprise packets of the 2019 season.

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26.

Western Bulldogs entered the 2020 AFL season looking to improve on their strong finish to 2019.

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27.

The match, which was hosted at the Gabba, was a close-fought affair; the Western Bulldogs worked their way to a five-point lead at quarter time, only for the Saints to take control in the second and third terms to lead by 24 points at the last change.

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28.

Western Bulldogs headed into the 2021 AFL season with the aim of progressing past the first week of the finals series.

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29.

For much of the season, the Western Bulldogs had been one of the clear standout teams, winning nine of the opening ten matches and appearing on track to win their first minor premiership after defeating Melbourne in Round 19.

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30.

However, the Western Bulldogs were comprehensively outplayed by Melbourne in the grand final, losing to the Demons by 74 points.

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31.

Western Bulldogs were looking to atone for their galling grand final defeat ahead of the 2022 season.

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32.

The Western Bulldogs started their elimination final encounter with Fremantle strongly, leading by as much as 41 points during the second quarter, but would fade out dramatically to lose by 13 points.

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33.

Real-life mascot for the Western Bulldogs is a bulldog named Caesar.

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34.

Western Bulldogs can be seen walking around the perimeter of the ground prior to each match.

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35.

Western Bulldogs then waits for the players to come out on the ground; they give him a pat as they run past to the banner.

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36.

Club played its home matches at the Western Bulldogs Oval, located in the inner-western Melbourne suburb of Footscray, from 1884 until 1997 .

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37.

In 2014, the Western Bulldogs accepted an offer from comedian and supporter Danny McGinlay to write the messages that appear on the club's banners.

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38.

Martin Flanagan's 1994 book Southern Sky, Western Oval reflects on the Western Bulldogs' fight for survival when it faced a merger with Fitzroy in the late 1980s.

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39.

Footscray Western Bulldogs merchandise is seen to be worn in 1992 film Romper Stomper by the main character 'Hando'.

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40.

In June 2013, the Western Bulldogs fielded a women's football side against Melbourne in the first AFL-sanctioned women's exhibition match, held at the MCG.

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41.

In 2016, when the AFL announced plans for AFL Women's, an eight team national women's league competition, the Western Bulldogs were asked to submit an application for a license alongside other AFL clubs.

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