The Best 10 Bulldogs Players of the Past 70 Years, in Order

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Byron Street

Debutant
May 31, 2017
70
177
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Thank you for your contributions. It was interesting to note names mentioned other than those I listedin the first post--names like Bisset, Bontempelli, Box, Brown, Croft, Darcy, Foster, Hardie, Hickey, Jennings, Jillard, Johnson, Kretiuk, Lake, Libba Senior, Macrae, McGuiness, Morris, Murphy, Oliver, Purser, Quinlan, Royal, Wallis and Wynd. Forgive me if I didn't list one of the names that you mentioned.

Yes, we have had many stars, some which have shone more brightly and for longer periods than others. But let's not forget the legion of "others" who have all contributed to the joy which is our shared Bulldog heritage. There were the "ordinary players," who gave of their everything (often battling injury). There were the characters who refused to conform, the strugglers--some who had moments of glory, but others who did not. There were the administrators, who gave us their time, and the doctors who lovingly served. There were the bootstudders, the coaches, the runners, the fitness supervisors, the players' wives, and the fans. We all feel that somehow we belong to something bigger than ourselves, and that is why re-watching the 2016 Preliminary Final, for the umpteenth time, can bring tears to our eyes.

Who among us would want to have been a supporter of Carlton, or Essendon, or Richmond, or Collingwood, etc? And the answer is: Not one of us!
 

RedWhite&Blue

Premiership Player
Jul 21, 2005
3,921
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In order of appearance these are the best I've seen... Hawkins, Royal, Beasley, Grant, Johnson, West, Murphy, Brown, Lake, Bontempelli
 

Byron Street

Debutant
May 31, 2017
70
177
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
An important observation arising from this thread is that of the 35 or so players mentioned (in my original list, and by those who have contributed), only two, I think -- Peter Foster and Libba Senior -- had previously played at any other AFL/VFL clubs (and, I don't thnink Libba got a first-XVIII game when he was at North Melbourne). There is another thread asking us to choose those who made the most contribution to the Dogs after coming to the Dogs from other clubs (included are names like Akermanis, Hall, and Hudson), but this thread has revealed that the very best performers for the Dogs over the years were those who played their first senior games with the Dogs.

A second important observation is that many of the 35 "best players for the Dogs" listed in this thread left the Dogs to play with other AFL/VFL clubs. Among those were Templeton, Hawkins, Dempsey, Lake, Nathan Brown, Quinlan, Bisset, McGuiness, and Hardie. Wow, of those just named, there are four Brownlow medalists. There were others (e,g, Round, Wilson) who left the Dogs and won Brownlows at their new clubs,
 

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RedWhite&Blue

Premiership Player
Jul 21, 2005
3,921
6,457
Vic
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Cant argue with that top 10. Templeton was the main reason i stuck with the Dogs as an impressionable young boy. I followed the Dogs around Melbourne by myself on the old red rattlers in the old VFL and we copped plenty of thrashings but Kelvin nearly always kicked a bag and i kept going. Was there at bloody Vic. Park when we got thrashed but KT got 6 and reached 100 ( hope my memory is correct).
Plenty of favourites but not necessarily top 10 - Hardie, McGuiness, Foster, Beasley, Huppatz, Dunstan, Libba Snr (loved defending him against the non believers), Kretiuk, Wynd, Morris, Johnno, Crofty and Purser.
By thinking who could dislodge the OP's 10 I realised how many bloody good footballers we have had over the years and that's why I'm Dogs till i Die.
Love JJ and Bont of the current crop BTW.
I was a massive McGuiness fan as well in the 80's... he was the good looking rooster with the massive left boot!
A quick google reveals some interesting things about what he's been up to after footy - he was a massive pants man.
I remember rumours back in the day and he doesn't seem to have changed his stripes.
s-l300.jpg
 

scooter600x

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 14, 2003
8,896
2,110
Behind the goals, Geelong Rd end
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
For those of us that saw the Dogs play in the mid/late 70's I thought Geoff Jennings would have been an absolute icon of the club if not for recurring injuries. Retired at just 28. Also, Ted Whitten jnr an extremely skilful player, people who saw him play would know that. Debut at just 17 years of age and retired at just 25 when he was just entering his prime.
We were 10 points from a grand final in 85 with Whitten, Jennings, Templeton and Mick Egan all under 30 and all finished by injuries
 

hoianbulldog

Norm Smith Medallist
Mar 2, 2006
5,548
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Hoi An, Vietnam. I am off the grid.
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Your memory serves you correct mate, I was at the game too. The only game I saw at Vic Park where the dogs won was in 1985. Most times we got absolutely pumped there.

Scariest part of going to vic park for me was crossing hoddle street with dad. He wasn't a fan of pedestrian crossings but we always made it.
 

hoianbulldog

Norm Smith Medallist
Mar 2, 2006
5,548
6,281
Hoi An, Vietnam. I am off the grid.
AFL Club
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I was a massive McGuiness fan as well in the 80's... he was the good looking rooster with the massive left boot!
A quick google reveals some interesting things about what he's been up to after footy - he was a massive pants man.
I remember rumours back in the day and he doesn't seem to have changed his stripes.
View attachment 580357
He would have been handy in 85 if he came a year earlier.
 
The best ten I've seen in order. I'm not including guys like Beasley, Hawkins and Foster who I saw play but I was to young to appreciate them properly :)

Grant
Johnson
West
Bontempelli
Wynd
Liberatore
Lake
Morris
Darcy
Boyd

I expect Bont to be number one by the end of his career and Macrae to be in there.
 
S.Wallis was a great player and very consistent. Often overlooked is Wally

Awesome bloke too, when I was a kid we'd stand behind the goals at the Geelong road end, with Dad a bit further back under the windsock. Wally would always do some laps at half time of the twos and would always stop and chat to kids like me and my brothers :)
 

gohardorgohome

All Australian
Feb 25, 2006
816
124
Gisborne
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Gisborne FC; Keilor Park FC;
I started watching in 1975 so I’ll have to rely on my old mans feedback for players before then. He loved Whitten, Henderson and Schultz.

I’ll go

Whitten
Bont
Hawkins
Johnson
Dempsey
Grant
Schultz
West
Templeton
Henderson


Bontempelli is high but I have seen him win more games than any other player already.

I wasn’t a huge West fan as I thought his kicking wasn’t great but he must’ve been regarded more highly by the match committee at the time. So he is in.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

King Harold

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 23, 2013
6,791
9,864
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An important observation arising from this thread is that of the 35 or so players mentioned (in my original list, and by those who have contributed), only two, I think -- Peter Foster and Libba Senior -- had previously played at any other AFL/VFL clubs (and, I don't thnink Libba got a first-XVIII game when he was at North Melbourne). There is another thread asking us to choose those who made the most contribution to the Dogs after coming to the Dogs from other clubs (included are names like Akermanis, Hall, and Hudson), but this thread has revealed that the very best performers for the Dogs over the years were those who played their first senior games with the Dogs.

A second important observation is that many of the 35 "best players for the Dogs" listed in this thread left the Dogs to play with other AFL/VFL clubs. Among those were Templeton, Hawkins, Dempsey, Lake, Nathan Brown, Quinlan, Bisset, McGuiness, and Hardie. Wow, of those just named, there are four Brownlow medalists. There were others (e,g, Round, Wilson) who left the Dogs and won Brownlows at their new clubs,

Also Bisset ,runner up to Bulldog Murray after being reported against Carlton for striking.
Kicked 6 that day and BOG by a mile , but didn't get votes.
Cost him the Brownlow.
Make no mistake , may not have looked like a footballer , but he was a star !
 

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