Western Bulldogs Football Club 2012

The Western Bulldogs Football Club (previously Footscray) was formed in 1877. They entered the VFL in 1925 under the name of the Footscray Football Club. Before the start of 1997, the club changed its name from Footscray Football Club to the Western Bulldogs Football Club.

The Bulldogs club colours are red, blue and white and they play their home games at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne. They have won just the one premiership in their history, in 1954, when they defeated Melbourne by 51 points.

In recent times, the Bulldogs have been a regular participant in the finals but have been unable to make a Grand Final appearance.

Western Bulldogs in 2011
The Western Bulldogs had a season best forgotten after playing off in Preliminary Finals over the past few seasons. The loss of dual All Australian full-back Brian Lake hurt the defensively, while other defenders in Ryan Hargrave, Dale Morris and Tom Williams all had injuries throughout the year that effectively disjointed the backline.

Key playmaker Adam Cooney was never right and the poor form of Lindsay Gilbee all added up to a season to forget for the Bulldogs.

Coach Rodney Eade resigned after Round 21 and the arrival of new coach Brendan McCartney may see a change of fortunes for the boys from the west.

Western Bulldogs 2011 Best and Fairest winner: Matthew Boyd

Matthew Boyd is one of the unsung heroes of the Western Bulldogs and he again had a most consistent season with 701 disposals, 8 goals and more than 5 tackles per game.