The Western Bulldogs had to overcome a multitude of obstacles en route to their first premiership in the AFL women’s competition.
The Bulldogs wore down the Brisbane Lions to win by six points in a gripping grand final at a rain-soaked Ikon Park on Saturday, with the final scoreline reading 4.3 (27)-3.3 (21).
It all came down to the dying seconds, with the Lions mounting a strong attacking move that was detonated by a composed Naomi Ferres mark on the siren.
At that moment, the Bulldogs’ theme song,
Daughters of the West, blasted out over the loud speakers amid an outpouring of joy for all in the red, white and blue.
The Bulldogs had won the cup in the AFLW’s second season.
Bulldogs coach Paul Groves said the premiership was recognition for all the hard work put in by all involved.
“Just very proud – it’s probably the over-riding emotion at the moment for the 30 girls that have really busted their gut,” he said.
From the first bounce this season, the Western Bulldogs encountered and dealt with a number of hurdles.
There was a season-ending knee injury to rookie Daria Bannister in round one, a season-ending knee injury to No.1 draft pick Isabel Huntington in round two and the untimely loss to Adelaide Crows in round three that followed and left question marks about the Bulldogs’ depth.
The Bulldogs needed to beat Melbourne in the last round to advance to the grand final. They did, but at a severe cost, with captain Katie Brennan suspended for the grand final after a sling tackle.
Groves is adamant the suspension had no impact inside the walls of the club.
“We were really open, honest, in our discussions with the players,” he said.
The Bulldogs had a mountain to climb within the grand final itself.
They were goalless at half-time and trailing by a kick as they struggled to adapt to wet conditions they had not experienced all season.
The momentum of the game swung on the back of a long 50-metre Deanna Berry goal that skidded through straight after the half-time break.
Kirsten McLeod put the Bulldogs in front soon after with a crumbing goal.
It was Monique Conti, best on ground, who electrified the Bulldogs in the third term, capping off a brilliant quarter with a beautiful snap goal to extend the lead to 13 at three-quarter time.
Brisbane responded in the last quarter with a goal through Jess Wuetschner, but Bulldog superstar Emma Kearney returned fire with a composed set shot to get the Bulldogs back out to a 12-point lead.
Kearney’s 15 disposals were all quality. Only stand-in skipper Ellie Blackburn had more for the Bulldogs with 17, while Angelica Gogos had a major impact with nine disposals to go with nine tackles. Kirsty Lamb had 12 disposals and eight tackles and Jenna Bruton had 13 disposals and seven tackles.
Brisbane made one final push, Wuetschner kicking another major to cut the margin to five points.
The dying minutes were an arm wrestle, but the Bulldogs held on and the premiership was theirs.
