2018 was another year of disappointment for the Bulldogs as they struggled to find the form that took them to a premiership just two years earlier.
Luke Beveridge took comfort in the fact his side is one of the youngest in the competition, but it’s been hard to see where the spark is going to come from to get the Dogs back to the top.
Jack Macrae’s continued improvement was a positive and with Marcus Bontempelli and Lachie Hunter the list has got the core of a great midfield, but they need more help.
Tom Liberatore and Mitch Wallis have shown they can be elite yet neither seems to be in the right head space to get back to their best.
And then there’s the pillars at either end. The potential is there with Tom Boyd and Josh Schache capable of becoming a forward duo to fear, but without them firing it’s hard to see the Bulldogs being a premiership threat.
List changes
In
Taylor Duryea (Hawthorn), Sam Lloyd (Richmond), Bailey Smith (Sandringham Dragons), Rhylee West (Calder Cannons, pictured with father Scott), Laitham Vandermeer (Murray Bushrangers), Ben Cavarra (Williamstown), Will Hayes (Footscray VFL)
Rookies
Lachie Young (Dandenong Stingrays), Jordon Sweet (North Adelaide)
Out
Jordan Roughead, Marcus Adams, Luke Dahlhaus, Tom Campbell, Kieran Collins, Mitch Honeychurch, Nathan Mullenger-McHugh, Clay Smith, Jack Redpath, Shane Biggs
Best Brownlow chances
Marcus Bontempelli $31, Jack Macrae $34, Lachie Hunter $101, Tom Liberatore $151
After top-10 finishes in 2016 and 2017 Bontempelli slid back a bit last season, but he’s never going to lose his eye-catching ability and, if the team around him can lift a bit more, the ‘Bont’ will be right in Brownlow contention.
Macrae and Hunter are a little less noticeable, but that’s been changing. Macrae picked up 14 votes in 2018 despite missing three games and losing momentum in the middle of the season, while Hunter only needs a bit of media attention to lift his profile with the men in white (orange/green/pink…).
Players to watch
Josh Schache, Tom Boyd
The Bulldogs picked up Schache for a song when no other club was willing to take a chance on the former Lion. He didn’t set the world on fire in his first season at Whitten Oval, but he’s still only 21 years old and showed enough by the end of the season to suggest he could yet realise the potential that saw him taken with the second pick in the 2015 draft.
His first goal in the red, white and blue!
— AFL (@AFL) May 25, 2018
Josh Schache is on the board for his new club. #AFLPiesDogs pic.twitter.com/kzEqbyLm1e
Boyd had another frustrating year ruined by injury, mental health issues and indifferent form. His 15 minutes of fame in the 2016 flag win seems to have him typecast as a ruckman, but the Dogs need a dominant presence down forward and if they can get his mind back in the game it needs to be in front of goal.
A last chance to watch?
Tom Liberatore, Dale Morris
A knee injury in round one ended Liberatore’s 2018 early and he spent the rest of the season in contract negotiations. The fact he was only re-signed at the last minute, and then just for a one-year extension, suggests he is still playing for his career. If ‘Libba’ can’t get back somewhere near his 2014 best-and-fairest form he will be on the trade table, and there’s no guarantee any other club will touch the mysteriously troubled midfielder.
Tom Liberatore has come off the ground following this injury. #AFLGiantsDogs pic.twitter.com/kHOPtNEz9B
— AFL (@AFL) March 25, 2018
It seems as though nothing can stop Dale Morris, but Father Time will have the last word and it’s extremely unlikely he’ll go past 2019. A broken back couldn’t stop him playing in the club’s historic flag win, but injuries have kept him to just 11 games in each of the past two seasons and, even if he can get the body through another campaign, the soon to be 36-year-old is almost certainly heading into his final year in red, white and blue.
Western Bulldogs’ 2019 list
| No. | Name | Games | Date of birth | Weight, height | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Bontempelli, Marcus | 104 | 24 Nov 1995 | 193cm 93kg | Midfield |
| 17 | Boyd, Tom | 61 | 22 Aug 1995 | 200cm 103kg | Ruck |
| Cavarra, Ben | 0 | ||||
| 12 | Cordy, Zaine | 48 | 27 Oct 1996 | 193cm 90kg | Defender |
| 9 | Crozier, Hayden | 86 | 24 Dec 1993 | 185cm 79kg | Defender |
| 31 | Dale, Bailey | 40 | 22 Jul 1996 | 183cm 82kg | Midfield |
| 35 | Daniel, Caleb | 74 | 7 Jul 1996 | 168cm 72kg | Midfield |
| 29 | Dickson, Tory | 96 | 26 Sep 1987 | 184cm 85kg | Forward |
| 5 | Dunkley, Josh | 43 | 9 Jan 1997 | 190cm 88kg | Forward |
| 15 | Duryea, Taylor | 118 | 24 Apr 1991 | 179cm 80kg | Defender |
| 44 | English, Timothy | 9 | 10 Aug 1997 | 205cm 93kg | Ruck |
| 26 | Gowers, Billy | 20 | 10 Jun 1996 | 187cm 88kg | Forward |
| 30 | Greene, Fergus | 5 | 20 Dec 1997 | 187cm 75kg | Forward |
| 32 | Hayes, Will | 0 | 181cm 78kg | Midfield | |
| 7 | Hunter, Lachlan | 105 | 13 Dec 1994 | 183cm 82kg | Midfield |
| 39 | Johannisen, Jason | 106 | 8 Nov 1992 | 180cm 82kg | Defender |
| 46 | Jong, Lin | 61 | 4 Jun 1993 | 188cm 87kg | Midfield |
| 21 | Liberatore, Thomas | 117 | 16 May 1992 | 183cm 83kg | Midfield |
| 27 | Lipinski, Patrick | 18 | 17 Jul 1998 | 187cm 84kg | Forward |
| 22 | Lloyd, Sam | 57 | 3 Mar 1990 | 180cm 83kg | Forward |
| 36 | Lynch, Bradley | 9 | 11 Jul 1997 | 187cm 79kg | Defender |
| 11 | Macrae, Jackson | 118 | 3 Aug 1994 | 191cm 85kg | Midfield |
| 16 | McLean, Toby | 60 | 31 Jan 1996 | 180cm 79kg | Midfield |
| 38 | Morris, Dale | 252 | 29 Dec 1982 | 190cm 91kg | Defender |
| 33 | Naughton, Aaron | 18 | 30 Nov 1999 | 195cm 89kg | Defender |
| 42 | Picken, Liam | 198 | 1 Aug 1986 | 184cm 81kg | Forward |
| 28 | Porter, Callum | 0 | 22 Feb 1999 | 182cm 76kg | Midfield |
| 20 | Richards, Ed | 21 | 3 Jul 1999 | 185cm 79kg | Defender |
| 18 | Roberts, Fletcher | 49 | 3 Jun 1993 | 196cm 92kg | Defender |
| 13 | Schache, Josh | 40 | 21 Aug 1997 | 199cm 94kg | Forward |
| 6 | Smith, Bailey | 0 | 185cm 83kg | Midfield | |
| 37 | Smith, Roarke | 12 | 11 Sep 1996 | 181cm 81kg | Defender |
| 1 | Suckling, Matthew | 152 | 25 Jul 1988 | 187cm 85kg | Defender |
| 41 | Sweet, Jordon (R) | 0 | |||
| 8 | Trengove, Jackson | 169 | 2 Nov 1990 | 197cm 97kg | Forward |
| Vandermeer, Laitham | 0 | 180cm 77kg | Midfield | ||
| 3 | Wallis, Mitchell | 123 | 24 Oct 1992 | 186cm 85kg | Midfield |
| 19 | Webb, Lukas | 24 | 4 Mar 1996 | 187cm 84kg | Midfield |
| 14 | West, Rhylee | 0 | 181cm 82kg | Midfield | |
| 34 | Williams, Bailey | 32 | 10 Oct 1997 | 187cm 85kg | Defender |
| 10 | Wood, Easton | 137 | 4 Sep 1989 | 187cm 86kg | Defender |
| 40 | Young, Lachie (R) | 0 | |||
| 2 | Young, Lewis | 9 | 20 Dec 1998 | 197cm 96kg | Defender |
Sun, surf & hard work 🌞
— Western Bulldogs (@westernbulldogs) December 17, 2018
It's down to business on Day 1 of our Torquay getaway! pic.twitter.com/TTBsU2z9Oa
Western Bulldogs’ 2019 Fixture
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saturday 23 Mar 7:25pm | Sydney | Marvel Stadium |
| 2 | Sunday 31 Mar 3:20pm | Hawthorn | MCG |
| 3 | Sunday 7 Apr 2:20pm | Gold Coast | Marvel Stadium |
| 4 | Friday 12 Apr 7:50pm | Collingwood | MCG |
| 5 | Sunday 21 Apr 1:10pm | Carlton | Marvel Stadium |
| 6 | Saturday 27 Apr 6:10pm | Fremantle | Optus Stadium |
| 7 | Saturday 4 May 7:25pm | Richmond | Marvel Stadium |
| 8 | Saturday 11 May 1:45pm | Brisbane | Mars Stadium |
| 9 | Saturday 18 May 4:35pm | Geelong | GMHBA Stadium |
| 10 | Saturday 25 May 2:10pm | North Melbourne | Marvel Stadium |
| 11 | Sunday 2 Jun 3:20pm | West Coast | Optus Stadium |
| 12 | BYE | ||
| 13 | Saturday 15 Jun 7:25pm | Carlton | Marvel Stadium |
| 14 | Sunday 23 Jun 3:20pm | Collingwood | Marvel Stadium |
| 15 | Saturday 29 Jun 7:10pm | Port Adelaide | Adelaide Oval |
| 16 | Saturday 6 Jul 7:25pm | Geelong | Marvel Stadium |
| 17 | Sunday 14 Jul 3:20pm | Melbourne | Marvel Stadium |
| 18 | Sunday 21 Jul 4:40pm | St Kilda | Marvel Stadium |
| 19 | Sunday 28 Jul 1:10pm | Fremantle | Marvel Stadium |
| 20 | Sunday 4 Aug 4:40pm | Brisbane | Gabba |
| 21 | Saturday 10 Aug 7:25pm | Essendon | Marvel Stadium |
| 22 | Sunday 18 Aug 3:20pm | GWS Giants | Showground Stadium |
| 23 | TBC | Adelaide | Mars Stadium |
Games played on
Friday: 1
Saturday: 10
Sunday: 10
Teams played twice
Carlton, Fremantle, Collingwood, Brisbane, Geelong
Harry Taylor was unable to kick the winning goal after the siren.#AFLDogsCats pic.twitter.com/6PCTQYD1VS
— AFL (@AFL) June 29, 2018
2019 Preview and premiership odds
There’s a lot of question marks and not many answers hanging over the Bulldogs to the point where the bookies have them well down in premiership betting, starting as 13th ‘favourites’ at $34.
But the memories of September, 2016 are still around and, while only 14 of the flag-winning 22 are still on the list, there’s a well of untapped potential that has pundits and opponents wary.
Beveridge has the ability to get the best out of his players and, maybe after two years in the wilderness, motivation will be easier to find.
If Liberatore, Wallis, Schache and Boyd can step up to the plate this will suddenly become a very different team with multiple threats and youthful energy.
However, little has been added to a list that has fallen well short in recent campaigns, and maybe the heroics of 2016 will be remembered as a glorious but fleeting flash in the pan.