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The 2016 season has shown a lot in terms of how far along certain teams are in their quest for premiership glory. Luke Beveridge’s finals bound Bulldogs have built from the ground up.
They are set for a long and distinguished opportunity as a benchmark club in the competition.
The club has never been closer to tasting their second premiership. Sure they teased us in the late 1990s and 2000s, but this Bulldogs side has a distinctive feel.
The recruiting staff need to be applauded for their excellent work in the last five years, in building this club from the ground up. After finishing top four in 2010, the Bulldogs had a disappointing 2011 season, finishing outside the top eight. The club made the decision that the list they currently have would not take them any further and sought to build through the draft.
Some thought it was too premature, that the Dogs had the right men in place to go all the way. But the club knew best, and it is coming to a sweet and deserving fruition.
The Bulldogs have netted Tory Dickson, Tom Campbell, Clay Smith, Jake Stringer, Jack Macrae, Lachie Hunter, Marcus Bontempelli, Mitch Honeychurch, Lukas Webb, Caleb Daniel, Josh Dunkley and Marcus Adams through the draft period n the last five years, a remarkable strike rate which is paying major dividends.
On top of this, the club has brought in Koby Stevens, Stewart Crameri, Matthew Suckling, Shane Biggs and Tom Boyd to compliment these youngsters, and again the recruiting staff has struck gold.
The club got all they could from evergreen veterans Adam Cooney, Shaun Higgins, Brian Lake and Daniel Cross and moved them on to advance the development of it’s younger players at a quicker rate.
The Dogs have stuck to their guns, played the youngsters and watched them flourish into an exciting, ruthless and tough football side.
The club also hit the nail on the head by bringing in Luke Beveridge, a tough strategist who has had major successes in the VFA and as an assistant coach to Alastair Clarkson at Hawthorn.
What Beveridge has brought is discipline and much-needed leadership.
The Bulldogs also possess the perfect balance of youth and seniority, with such players as Easton Wood, Matthew Boyd, Dale Morris, Robert Murphy and Will Minson providing the stability and leadership for a young side.
What is scary for opposition clubs is how young their core group is and the fact they are not at the peak of their powers. Bontempelli is 20, Macrae 22, Liberatore 24, Wallis 23, Boyd 20, Stringer 22, Hunter 21, Daniel 19, Dalhaus 23, Johannisen 23 and Stevens 25.
Once the Bulldog veterans dissolve out of the side, Beveridge has an army of young players ready to step into their prime as footballers.
The recruitment team needs to be lauded for their ability as a team and finding the footballers to take this club to the next level.
They are a destination club and a team that has provided an example of what can be achieved by utilising the National Draft and nailing its picks year by year.
Luke Beveridge is the real deal, the Bulldogs are the real deal. With a little bit more maturity and games the club will build a dynasty that will be a satisfying and worthwhile adventure for suffering Bulldogs supporters.
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