The Western Bulldogs have completed an incredible fairytale finals campaign this afternoon, knocking off the minor premiers Sydney Swans by 22 points in an incredible Grand Final.
All the wash-up from the AFL Grand Final
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» Another classic Bulldogs banner
» Re-live all the action with our live blog
The Dogs ran away with it late in the final quarter to win their first flag in 62 years and leave the Swans broken hearted for the second time in three years.
An incredibly tight contest kicked off with an absolute grind of an opening term, with just three goals in the first quarter despite the fast paced and aggressive opening to the contest.
The Dogs took just a four-point lead into the opening break as the Swans took an early Buddy Franklin injury scare into the sheds, but they shot out of a cannon in the second, piling on the pressure and a pair of goals before the Swans could catch up.
But catch up they did, hammering home four goals in six minutes to take the lead and push the Bulldogs onto the back foot.
Just to keep everyone in the balance, the deficit thinned out to just two points at the main break, this time in favour of the Sydney who looked like a resurgent team looking to fire home in the second half.
It wasn’t to be though, as Tom Boyd, Marcus Bontempelli and Jake Stringer ran rings around the Sydney tired legs and stacked the pressure onto the premiership favourites.
Led by a Norm Smith winning performance from Jason Johannisen and two late goals to Liam Picken sealed the contest for the Doggies and one of the biggest receptions to a final siren in history.
The Swans held onto the contest late, but they struggled with their clearances under pressure in the final quarter and simply couldn’t get the footy up the other end of the park as the Dogs camped themselves in the forward 50.
It was scenes of black and white on the field after the final siren. The jubilation and pure ecstasy of the Bulldogs historic win were mixed with the devastation and tears of the Swans players who taste grand final defeat once again after a similar loss in 2014.
It was touted to be a great final and it certainly delivered. The pace of the game was blinding throughout and the tension was through the roof for the entire contest.
The first team in history to win the flag from below 6th on the ladder, topping off one of the greatest finals campaign of all time to end the longest premiership drought in the AFL.
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