Dogs to remember the 1989 fightback

Mattdougie

Cancelled
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Jun 29, 2013
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The other woman decided not to go on with it, can't blame her. Someone, it might have been the other woman, suggested Irene. She agreed and the rest is history. It was in the Social Club. It was the night that the merger became public, the beer was free, the VFL paid for it, probably saw it as a wake.
Naturally I'm very grateful the club was saved. However IMO the VFL/AFL stuffed up the transition to a national comp. It tried to do it by stealth and by picking off the stragglers in a cowardly fashion. It underestimated the stragglers!!

It had booted South Melbourne up to Sydney and had started Adelaide and West Coast so by 1989 so it was a comp of 14 teams (with Brisbane starting in 1990) but it was still massively weighted to Victorian clubs and Victoria is still over-represented to this day.

Leaving aside club loyalties and traditions and taking a truly national perspective (yes, it's a highly debatable point) here is what it should have done:
  • No Vic club remains intact except Geelong and then only because they are outside Melbourne.
  • The following mergers of Melbourne-based clubs take place, leaving 5 clubs + Geelong in Victoria:
    • Footscray-Essendon
    • Hawthorn-StKilda
    • Carlton-North
    • Richmond-Melbourne
    • Collingwood-Fitzroy
  • The benefit of having all Vic clubs merge is you lose hardly any of the local support as long as the mergers are done on an equitable basis. Pity the poor South Melbourne and Fitzroy supporters whose teams were cast into the wilderness. Some followed their interstate reincarnation (Sydney or Brisbane) and some switched to other Vic clubs but it was never the same for most of them.
  • New clubs to be set up as follows
    • WA (2) - West Coast +1 (Freo)
    • SA (2) - Adelaide + 1 (Port)
    • NSW (2) - Sydney + 1 (GWS)
    • Qld (2) - Brisbane + 1 (Cairns/NQ)
    • Tas (1) - Hobart or Tasmania
    • ACT (1) - Canberra
  • Total of 16 clubs - although there would be a case for making it only 14 by leaving out Canberra and Cairns. With 14 clubs you could run a true H&A comp of 26 rounds + finals. No unbalanced draws.
Anyway that's all hypothetical now. We've been given our second (and third) chance and we're already vindicated with the 2016 flag. We're a well run club these days thanks to Smorgon and Gordon and we're not going away any time soon.

Go Dogs.


It would be a cold day in hell before I’d support a team connected to the drug cheats in anyway
 
Merging clubs results in a net loss of supporters. There's no way 100% of the supporters of both clubs follow the new club.

If the Bulldogs merged I'd go and support Williamstown and avoid AFL.
 
Apr 4, 2016
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Ahhh… this jumper is my childhood!

Not sure if I can get to the game, anyone know if it'll be online at any stage or at WO?
 

Kennel Master

All Australian
Sep 8, 2003
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Dennis Galimberti's wording in regards to Mick Malthouse was interesting....
"He abandoned the club"

Yes that Gallimberti interview on the Dogs website is compelling.

Living in Perth we only got snippets of what was going on at the time.

Hearing about the back-room deals, the lies being told, the threats and so on makes me appreciate the bravery of those involved in the fightback.

Malthouse obviously a rat deserting a sinking ship. "Every man for himself!!!"

We must win on Sunday.

KM
 

Bulldogs Legend

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Aug 18, 2015
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I emailed the club to ask as haven’t pre-ordered but had no reply. Also asked if the long sleeve would be available.

I have my Shane Loveless number 2 jumper hanging up at home, unfortunately it’s fits me about as well as it would fit Shane today but I am going to bring it on Sunday to wave around!


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
 

Bulldogs Legend

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 18, 2015
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Dennis Galimberti's wording in regards to Mick Malthouse was interesting....
"He abandoned the club"

That was always my impression from the time not that I had any inside knowledge. It seemed like Malthouse checked out early in 89 and wasn’t up for the fight!
I also held him responsible for Magic McClean leaving as Malthouse was playing him in a defensive tagger type role late on


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Slack Nang

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Oct 12, 2016
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I grew up on State of Origin and SANFL as a Central District fan and the fightback was the first time I learned there even was another team called Bulldogs

As the VFl became the AFL and S.A. became part of the competition I became a fan of the Footscray Bulldogs

Going to games was hard. Seriously, Crows fans are freaking feral. When Port Adelaide came along it became easier. At least Port fans have stood in the rain and cold to see their team play and going to Port-Bulldogs games at Footy Park they at least showed respect to opposition fans

I now live in Vic, only two train stops away from Whitten Oval and a few more to Docklands

The only reason I can still go to games and watch the Bulldogs is because of all the marvelous people who stood up and fought for something more than football. They stood up and said they count and matter and that should never be taken for granted

I will be at the game but I will not be wearing the fightback scarf I bought. I will be wearing the scarf a former flatmates mum knitted for me and I will be celebrating this fantastic club and the people who make it so
 
Dec 21, 2005
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Yes that Gallimberti interview on the Dogs website is compelling.

Living in Perth we only got snippets of what was going on at the time.

Hearing about the back-room deals, the lies being told, the threats and so on makes me appreciate the bravery of those involved in the fightback.

Malthouse obviously a rat deserting a sinking ship. "Every man for himself!!!"

We must win on Sunday.

KM
Haven't read the article, but his chat with Bob on the fightback podcast was compelling.
 

VogonProsthetnic

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Apr 26, 2010
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Listening o the fight back podcasts- it's incredible the dirty tactics Oakley and Samuel used to try and stop the supporters obtaining knowledge of their actions and to deny the supporters.

Makes you wonder how people with so little undrstanding of people, the culture of the game and what makes the game popular become the ones making decisions.

If Oakley and co got their way, they would destroyed AFL as a cultural entity. Events like fight back and he stopping of the Melb-Hawks merger are events of great significance.
 

The Buck

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Sep 23, 2013
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I grew up on State of Origin and SANFL as a Central District fan and the fightback was the first time I learned there even was another team called Bulldogs

As the VFl became the AFL and S.A. became part of the competition I became a fan of the Footscray Bulldogs

Going to games was hard. Seriously, Crows fans are freaking feral. When Port Adelaide came along it became easier. At least Port fans have stood in the rain and cold to see their team play and going to Port-Bulldogs games at Footy Park they at least showed respect to opposition fans

I now live in Vic, only two train stops away from Whitten Oval and a few more to Docklands

The only reason I can still go to games and watch the Bulldogs is because of all the marvelous people who stood up and fought for something more than football. They stood up and said they count and matter and that should never be taken for granted

I will be at the game but I will not be wearing the fightback scarf I bought. I will be wearing the scarf a former flatmates mum knitted for me and I will be celebrating this fantastic club and the people who make it so

SN: Did you know that the Footscray Football Club actually played a role in the establishment of Central District?

You might want to have a look at this:

 

Arkangel

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Jun 8, 2007
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Merging clubs results in a net loss of supporters. There's no way 100% of the supporters of both clubs follow the new club.

If the Bulldogs merged I'd go and support Williamstown and avoid AFL.

Yes, if it weren’t for the Bulldogs I’d take a passing interest in the local sides I played for when I was younger, and none at all in the AFL. I think it would be impossible to artificially transfer the sort of passion one has grown up with for a club onto another as an adult.
 
Re: the fight back, I was there at the rally with all my family and it was incredible. Raw emotion and passion.

Forever grateful to all organisers and driving forces behind it who’ve already mentioned in this thread and every supporter who gave till it hurt.

It’s also fitting (and spooky!) that in the two most important games in our history since then - the 2016 Prelim and Grand Final - our score ended up being 89.

Go the scraggers.
54 and 61 kept appearing during those games too :oops:

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pineapple dee

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Jun 23, 2016
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I'm not a doggies fan but all those years ago I made a contribution to help keep you guys going. I was bitterly opposed to what the AFL was trying to do. As much as I want the dees to salute on Sunday, I'd like to see The Bont win a Brownlow and have a pair of Premiership medallion shoes by the end of his career.
Cheers
 

WallyStringhaus

Club Legend
Aug 27, 2015
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Did anybody read the article in the Herald-Sun yesterday? They included a black and white photo of some supporters during a fightback rally. The guy with the pudding-bowl haircut has been a fanatic in the crowd at matches for many years since. Out of curiosity, does anyone know his name? I haven't noticed him in the crowd in recent years when watching on the telly, but he is one of those easily identified non-footballing Bulldogs people, just like our doctor Gary Zimmerman.

View attachment 707286
As mentioned the gentleman in question is David Porter. He and Gary Munn were co-presidents of the cheer squad for many years with Gary having spent 50yrs as a cheer squad member (his mother founded the original cheer squad).

They were both given the tap on the shoulder in 2013 to make way for a new generation of cheer squad members. Gary was displeased with the way the Club handled it and vowed never to go to another match. Unsure about David who had been a Member for 37yrs at the time.

It's a bit sad when you consider how much time and effort these guys put into the Club. One wonders how much enjoyment they would have got out of 2016. Hopefully it still meant something to them.

I can understand the Clubs position though. I only ever had one dealing with Gary and it wasn't pleasant. During the '99 final against WCE, I saw some friends in the cheer squad and wandered in to say hello at half time. I had a beer in my hand and had no idea that the cheer squad was a 'dry area'.

Instead of politely letting me know (I would have happily vacated the area) he proceeded to berate and humiliate me in a very public and animated way and even went to the point of calling security over. Completely over the top when a simple 'heads up' would have sufficed.
 

Spiritof82

Premiership Player
Jan 8, 2004
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As mentioned the gentleman in question is David Porter. He and Gary Munn were co-presidents of the cheer squad for many years with Gary having spent 50yrs as a cheer squad member (his mother founded the original cheer squad).

They were both given the tap on the shoulder in 2013 to make way for a new generation of cheer squad members. Gary was displeased with the way the Club handled it and vowed never to go to another match. Unsure about David who had been a Member for 37yrs at the time.

It's a bit sad when you consider how much time and effort these guys put into the Club. One wonders how much enjoyment they would have got out of 2016. Hopefully it still meant something to them.

I can understand the Clubs position though. I only ever had one dealing with Gary and it wasn't pleasant. During the '99 final against WCE, I saw some friends in the cheer squad and wandered in to say hello at half time. I had a beer in my hand and had no idea that the cheer squad was a 'dry area'.

Instead of politely letting me know (I would have happily vacated the area) he proceeded to berate and humiliate me in a very public and animated way and even went to the point of calling security over. Completely over the top when a simple 'heads up' would have sufficed.

Love that bit, did a club organised bus trip to Sydney in the early 80's and Gary had to be almost carried off the bus by the time we got there after a few too many beers. I think just about every game we played in the 80's he was pretty well topped up by the end of them.
 
If I can add a snippet about Gary and David, we joined the cheer squad for a year and went to a couple of interstate games. We found it very cliquey and not really that friendly. At an interstate game, we had a couple of drinks with Gary, who just made fun of David and his weight the whole time. Ironic as he wasn’t a small man himself.

When the club cleaned up the Cheer Squad I thought it was a good move, but David Porter only goes to the VFL games now, I don’t know about Gary.
 
Ahhh… this jumper is my childhood!

Not sure if I can get to the game, anyone know if it'll be online at any stage or at WO?
I read on the club site they would only be available at the ground and not online [maybe they will sell online after the game] They had a link to preorder them which didnt work
 
Well done by the club making it a special day. I was just relieved we won. It was sick losing to them in that 50th anniversary of the 54 premiership.
I don't know who the people were in the lap of honour at 3/4 time but gave them a clap anyway. :)
Spookily the clock was on 2:54 while they turned the lights down in the pregame tribute - which was moving.
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Draft Pick

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Jun 17, 2004
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Interesting that they are now referring on talking footy to the jumper they wore yesterday as a “heritage jumper”, and saying they might bring it back.


There was a time when the current hoops jumper was the “heritage” jumper and people thought it would be a great idea to bring it back.
 
Interesting that they are now referring on talking footy to the jumper they wore yesterday as a “heritage jumper”, and saying they might bring it back.


There was a time when the current hoops jumper was the “heritage” jumper and people thought it would be a great idea to bring it back.
The wonderful world of merchandising.
 
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