Is this the best Bulldogs team you've ever seen?

Is it?


  • Total voters
    65

VogonProsthetnic

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 26, 2010
5,137
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85 and 97 teams had great coaches.

Not convinced Bevo’s tactical nous is as good as Malthouse and Wallace.

Unfortunately the 85 team came up against 2 of the greatest teams in the history of the game.

97 team should have won- the pressure of trying to break the drought got to them imo.
 

hutchy31

Norm Smith Medallist
May 25, 2014
8,519
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Love the architectural metaphors.

If we can stay on top of the ladder we might be having a night on the tiles in late September. The recruitment of Martin has definitely opened the door for our midfield. I reckon we might blow the roof clean off this year, as long as we don't hit the wall mid-season. That would be curtains for us.

I think you've built the foundations of a good argument there DW.

I'd have to agree. This side is incredible when it hits the deck, and just as comfortable indoors as outdoors. There will be too many sides that come up against us that won't be able to handle the heat and will need to get out of the kitchen.

There's a decent chance we'll need a nice, shiny new cabinet in a few months. As long as our key players don't lamp anyone and get suspended for weeks (alright, that one's a bit of a stretch).
 

Munnez

Premiership Player
Apr 2, 2018
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85 and 97 teams had great coaches.

Not convinced Bevo’s tactical nous is as good as Malthouse and Wallace.

Unfortunately the 85 team came up against 2 of the greatest teams in the history of the game.

97 team should have won- the pressure of trying to break the drought got to them imo.
And a very dodgy goal umpiring decision 😉
 

footscray1973

Premiership Player
May 17, 2004
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Love the architectural metaphors.

If we can stay on top of the ladder we might be having a night on the tiles in late September. The recruitment of Martin has definitely opened the door for our midfield. I reckon we might blow the roof clean off this year, as long as we don't hit the wall mid-season. That would be curtains for us.

Great work. This is the sort of tangent I take often in conversation with my offspring - I know it will result in eye-rolls, and if I'm truly honest, I often do it as payback and just to p1ss them off. But it's good to be in a safe environment on here with like-minded posters, where a Dad-joke quality is fostered and appreciated.
 

Next Waiting

Norm Smith Medallist
Jan 19, 2014
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Love the architectural metaphors.

If we can stay on top of the ladder we might be having a night on the tiles in late September. The recruitment of Martin has definitely opened the door for our midfield. I reckon we might blow the roof clean off this year, as long as we don't hit the wall mid-season. That would be curtains for us.
Martin's bodywork has his opponents bracing for impact. But we would be screwed without Bonts genius and leadership. He's still the corner stone of our impending success but Treloar is an absolute caulker and to have him skirting around around packs has added a new dimension to the plan and game stile. I may be slated for suggesting "Bevo: Our Architect", We Truss Him. Nailed it!
 
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Cookie

Club Legend
May 2, 2004
1,138
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Right in front of you
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I was having a look at the 1985 final series and it’s interesting to note that we lost to Hawthorn by 93 points in the QF but only 10 points in the PF.

What a turn around!

I was speaking to a die hard bulldogs supporter who claims we should have beaten Hawthorn in the PF but Leigh Matthews kicked a couple of late goals while on Brad Hardie and that was the difference.

He also said that we would have won the GF as we had beaten Essendon twice during the year.

I was too young then, but is this your recollection?

Essendon was s**t scared of us. My recollection of the PF was that we had a great opportunity to win that game. Super MacPherson made a crucial error heading into the forward line late in the last quarter and we lost momentum, and the rest is history.

But, that '85 side was the best I've seen. We had multiple winners across every line.
 
Essendon was sh*t scared of us. My recollection of the PF was that we had a great opportunity to win that game. Super MacPherson made a crucial error heading into the forward line late in the last quarter and we lost momentum, and the rest is history.

But, that '85 side was the best I've seen. We had multiple winners across every line.
Was a good team but there is a myth about Essendon being scared of us.

Yes we did beat them at the then Western oval but in the return bout at Windy hill their lead ballooned out to over 11 goals before we got some junk time goals.

It was a good team but was certainly not even the best team of that year let alone of the doggies
 

Braybrook Son

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 4, 2016
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That poll is funny as 🤣 on paper I think this list has the most talented players I’ve ever seen at one time in a Doggies team, right up there with 2008-2010, 98, 92 and 85
 
Apr 8, 2005
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I've been watching properly since about 2000, and this is clearly the best team I've seen in terms of personnel. The only competition would be the 08-10 teams and 15-16 teams. Those teams were all good but pretty significantly flawed in various areas, and we were always trying to plug holes with people like Aker and Barry Hall. Our midfield is pretty much 100% guns now (with middling rucks), our forwardline is a mix of quality talls and middling smalls, and our defense is very well stocked for our gamestyle (ie. a couple of decent/good big defensive players mixed with a plethora of gun intercept/rebound defenders). On top of that we have multiple players who are potentially top 10 players in the comp (Bont, Macrae, Treloar, Bailey Dale. This is the best Bulldogs team ever and we should enjoy it while it lasts.
Bailey Dale is a potential top 10 player in the league????
 

Libba39

Norm Smith Medallist
Mar 10, 2008
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On paper, its right up there. Not sure if it really matters however if they don't win the flag.

Apart from that I thought the 98 side which finished 2nd to Norf in the regular season was the best team I've seen.
 
Dec 18, 2015
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You are talking like getting in Barry Hall and Aker was a bad thing.

I think this sides good. Probably a Brian Lake away from being extremely good. It's our best midfield by far and we've always had solid midfields.

Someone get Phil Davis phone number and see if he wants to come jag a flag late in his career....
 

The Buck

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Sep 23, 2013
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Sep 7, 2015
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2068 side was the best Bulldogs side to ever exist. Shoeshine Bontempelli was the best key forward in the game and she kicked 207 super goals that year. The first woman to ever win the Coleman medal since the AFL became mixed gender. Biological augmentation and gene editing meant there was no longer any advantage or disadvantage for birth sex. Khaleesi Liberatore was the Brownlow medallist that year. Down back we had an AA key defender in Kegoralanderson Daniel, grandson of Caleb, who stood at a towering 300cm (the maximum height allowed by NWO regulations.) Unfortunately the human race would only survive another two decades after that and we would never see a better Bulldogs side than that one.
 
It really lacked a centre half forward though. Neil Peart and Robert Gronewegen both played in the prelim and they were battlers who did not perform in that match and others.
Sewell was cool :$ Can't recall what happened with him, did they try Peart and Gronewegen as they thought they could do better?
Was a good team but there is a myth about Essendon being scared of us.

Yes we did beat them at the then Western oval but in the return bout at Windy hill their lead ballooned out to over 11 goals before we got some junk time goals.

It was a good team but was certainly not even the best team of that year let alone of the doggies
Fair enough, 2016 would be best as they won it, 97 as they should've won it, 98 were similar but maybe 85 stood out as we hadn't looked like we could win it for so long and they were so talented and great to watch
 
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