Footscray has exceeded expectations so far in the Rugby Union Dewar Shield competition this season.
After just falling short last year of their first title since in that division since 1937, the Bulldogs are the team to beat early in this season.
After seven rounds, the side is on top of the ladder and currently undefeated.
Coach Cooper Vuna said they didn’t think they would be this far advanced.
“We’re doing quite well,” he said. “We had all four sides win, including the Colts to give us four club wins [on the long weekend].
“We weren’t sure what we would look to do this year. We’re doing alright at this stage and we have to keep it going.
The dual-code Tongan international and former Wallaby returned to Melbourne early last year and moved back to Melbourne’s western suburbs.
He returned to his old club and took on the coaching role.
Vuna was quick to praise his players saying they were the ones who were putting in all the hard work to make it happen.
He said a coach can only do so much.
“They do it on the field,” he said. “It’s really good to see for a club like Footscray. We have one more round to go in the first lot of matches.
“The expectations don’t change we just want to get another win under our belt. We’ll be looking to get a few more wins under our belt.”
The Bulldogs wins this season include a 91-0 win against Melbourne University on the long weekend.
For Vuna, who played a few games at Footscray back in the day while playing for the Melbourne Rebels, seeing the difference in the club was something that was amazing.
“When I played my two games with Footscray we were getting smashed by other teams and we’re now on the other side of the that.
“It’s nice to be on the other end of it and giving back against some of these big clubs.
“Footscray is doing well and being competitive with them.”
Vuna said while getting it right on field was important, the club is also focused on wanting to get things right off the field as well.
He said they want their club to be somewhere people want to come to.
After a number of tough years including the rooms being flooded things are starting to turn around.
“We want to build Footscray into a space around Footscray and Maribyrnong and out here in the west,” Vuna said.
“We want to be a place that people come to.”
On Saturday, the Bulldogs continued their winning run with a hard fought win against the Harlequins.
The Bulldogs were able to sneak home and win 19-17.
Edwin Maka, Gilbert Mike and Tafatolu Tuia were the try scorers for the Bulldogs in the win.
Footscray faces Box Hill this Saturday at Box Hill.
