News What They're Saying - The Bulldogs Media Thread - Part 5

[dogwatch]

Another good Jonathan Horn article:

From the Pocket: Charlie Curnow and Carlton give insight into how deals are made. It’s not pretty

The brinkmanship is pushing the friendship but in this specific scenario, the club still holds all the aces

www.theguardian.com

 

[Bulldogs85]

We have two finalists if you have the time vote

 

[Sentinel]

We have two finalists if you have the time vote

Darcy's wasn't even voted mark of the week, yet probably takes out the whole thing.

 

[Bulldogs85]

Darcy's wasn't even voted mark of the week, yet probably takes out the whole thing.

I voted Darcy

 

[H Dolphin]

We have two finalists if you have the time vote

Buku has to win it. That grin, the pure joy of playing, that's what footy's all about.

 

[_Cerberus_]

The Khamis mark was better in my opinion. Decent air time, surround by a sea of arms trying to stop him and the ball. Darcys mark was just "courageous" and see those a few times a year.

In all honestly, this is one of the weakest mark of the year finalist groups ever.
Plenty of potential hangers that were dropped this season as well.

 

[Snarls Barkley]

The Khamis mark was better in my opinion. Decent air time, surround by a sea of arms trying to stop him and the ball. Darcys mark was just "courageous" and see those a few times a year.

In all honestly, this is one of the weakest mark of the year finalist groups ever.
Plenty of potential hangers that were dropped this season as well.

The Khamis mark is clearly brilliant, pretty much jumped over a guy that is 2m tall. But the fact that he didn’t get a good ride on the shoulders really downplays the mark. Just not as eye catching as it could have been

 

[CarnTheScray]

Looking at the standard of these marks and goals…how the **** did Bont not win GOTY on either occasion?

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

i voted for Buku

 

[Fossie 32]

3AW interviewing James Plunkett who we recruited in 97? Played 10 games in 3? Years then went to Carlton and played 37 for them

 

[Sentinel]

3AW interviewing a player we recruited in 97? Played 10 games in 3? Years then went to Carlton and played 37 for them Height 5 foot 10 Didn’t get his name

Sounds to me like Jimmy Plunkett..

 

[Fossie 32]

Sounds to me like Jimmy Plunkett..

Bingo edited as they named him

 

[H Dolphin]

Bingo edited as they named him

A rugged defender/midfielder, Jimmy gave better service to Carlton. Although he grew up in Montmorency, his Footscray connections are solid. Way back in the 19 mumble mumbles, one of his great unkles had a butchers shop in Essex Street, Lockie's, who had, in his turn, inherited from his father, Jimmy's great grandfather, also James Plunkett. Maybe someone should start a thread about the great grandfathers' of players.

 

[Chicago1]

3AW interviewing James Plunkett who we recruited in 97? Played 10 games in 3? Years then went to Carlton and played 37 for them

Jimmy was one of my students at Parade College. Great guy and lovely family. When he played his first game for us at Princes Park, I got the biggest hug from his mum. She was so proud, and so was I. He was the only student that I had taught that played for us.

 

[X_box_X]

3AW interviewing James Plunkett who we recruited in 97? Played 10 games in 3? Years then went to Carlton and played 37 for them

Did they mention that he appeared in a free to air TV commercial in the 1980s with Max Walker?

 

[Fossie 32]

Did they mention that he appeared in a free to air TV commercial in the 1980s with Max Walker?

Not sure I think they might have

 

[H Dolphin]

The podcast of the Jimmy Plunkett interview is at

https://omny.fm/shows/big-house-wit...-melbourne-with-santo-cilauro-sun-07-sep-2025

 

[Goggin Our Best]

Yeah how are you going - look im posting this in this thread , maybe its the wrong thread but who really cares

Bought my copy of Bulldogs through and through - heard about the book , through the Two Dogs Podcast , listened to a few of them , and also Inside the Kennel , which i quite like - and of course my username he coached your club for a few years , so their is a bit of a connection their

But to me parts of the book were dissappointing , it was one way traffic , a love fest of Peter Gordon quotes , , you take the appointment of Terry Wheeler as senior coach and eventual sacking, about 6-7 pages , its all quotes from Peter Gordon , whats Terry Wheelers views , and like the old saying goes , there are 3 sides to every story , yours , theirs and the truth

Ithink the 70s era , was brushed over far too quickly , supporters and neutrals , love to hear what the top players had to say about the state of affairs , Footscray had some highly talented players back then , Gary Dempsey , Peter Welsh Geoff Jennings and of course Templeton - i would have loved to hear what they had to say

Two Dogs talked up the book like it was the best thing since sliced bread , thats why i bought it , but i dont think it is anything special , that is just my opinion

 

[Dogs_r_barking]

Yeah how are you going - look im posting this in this thread , maybe its the wrong thread but who really cares

Bought my copy of Bulldogs through and through - heard about the book , through the Two Dogs Podcast , listened to a few of them , and also Inside the Kennel , which i quite like - and of course my username he coached your club for a few years , so their is a bit of a connection their

But to me parts of the book were dissappointing , it was one way traffic , a love fest of Peter Gordon quotes , , you take the appointment of Terry Wheeler as senior coach and eventual sacking, about 6-7 pages , its all quotes from Peter Gordon , whats Terry Wheelers views , and like the old saying goes , there are 3 sides to every story , yours , theirs and the truth

Ithink the 70s era , was brushed over far too quickly , supporters and neutrals , love to hear what the top players had to say about the state of affairs , Footscray had some highly talented players back then , Gary Dempsey , Peter Welsh Geoff Jennings and of course Templeton - i would have loved to hear what they had to say

Two Dogs talked up the book like it was the best thing since sliced bread , thats why i bought it , but i dont think it is anything special , that is just my opinion

I wasn’t a supporter in the 70s and 80s, but those on here that were say that the club was poorly managed, and instead of becoming a powerhouse (first club to get 10,000 members) we had to trade players to keep the club afloat. Making finals in 1985 under Malthouse was our first breakthrough, (Malthouse is on record for saying that was his favourite team of all), was the start of becoming more professional.

Terry Wheeler still loves the club, and I often see him in the past players room at Marvel during game day. We also have past players that are sometimes interviewed in the social club.

There is a book that I bought at one of these events a few years back, which is an interview with many of the past players, which gives their view of their careers at Footscray. I will see if I can find it and give you the title.

 

[Cudi]

I wasn’t a supporter in the 70s and 80s, but those on here that were say that the club was poorly managed, and instead of becoming a powerhouse (first club to get 10,000 members) we had to trade players to keep the club afloat. Making finals in 1985 under Malthouse was our first breakthrough, (Malthouse is on record for saying that was his favourite team of all), was the start of becoming more professional.

Terry Wheeler still loves the club, and I often see him in the past players room at Marvel during game day. We also have past players that are sometimes interviewed in the social club.

There is a book that I bought at one of these events a few years back, which is an interview with many of the past players, which gives their view of their careers at Footscray. I will see if I can find it and give you the title.

Sounds like you're talking about The Buldog Heritage player register book.

 

[CarnTheScray]

I wasn’t a supporter in the 70s and 80s, but those on here that were say that the club was poorly managed, and instead of becoming a powerhouse (first club to get 10,000 members) we had to trade players to keep the club afloat. Making finals in 1985 under Malthouse was our first breakthrough, (Malthouse is on record for saying that was his favourite team of all), was the start of becoming more professional.

Terry Wheeler still loves the club, and I often see him in the past players room at Marvel during game day. We also have past players that are sometimes interviewed in the social club.

There is a book that I bought at one of these events a few years back, which is an interview with many of the past players, which gives their view of their careers at Footscray. I will see if I can find it and give you the title.

Yeah that’s mostly it, I’ve heard the stories from family members who were there to see the flag.

We stuffed up big time and at the worst time: the early days of television. Guess who the success teams during the early days of television where? Carlton Essendon Collingwood Richmond. The only club whose popularity transcends this period is Collingwood.

 

[geoffjennings79]

Yeah how are you going - look im posting this in this thread , maybe its the wrong thread but who really cares

Bought my copy of Bulldogs through and through - heard about the book , through the Two Dogs Podcast , listened to a few of them , and also Inside the Kennel , which i quite like - and of course my username he coached your club for a few years , so their is a bit of a connection their

But to me parts of the book were dissappointing , it was one way traffic , a love fest of Peter Gordon quotes , , you take the appointment of Terry Wheeler as senior coach and eventual sacking, about 6-7 pages , its all quotes from Peter Gordon , whats Terry Wheelers views , and like the old saying goes , there are 3 sides to every story , yours , theirs and the truth

Ithink the 70s era , was brushed over far too quickly , supporters and neutrals , love to hear what the top players had to say about the state of affairs , Footscray had some highly talented players back then , Gary Dempsey , Peter Welsh Geoff Jennings and of course Templeton - i would have loved to hear what they had to say

Two Dogs talked up the book like it was the best thing since sliced bread , thats why i bought it , but i dont think it is anything special , that is just my opinion

This is a fair enough comment. I've bought the book, haven't read it all yet. I'd like to see a book attempt to include interviews broadly from surviving players and coaches of earlier eras. Templeton brought up a couple of interesting tidbits of his departure recently on "The Front Bar". Need coaches Goggin and McKenzie (doubt Hart would participate) to give their views on the 70s/80s era (Don McKenzie as well as senior coach in 78/79, also acted as Bluey Hampshire 's assistant in 82/83, as well as a long stint as reserves coach).
Also need to capture recollections of older guys while still around - Bissett, Dempsey, Welsh, Quinlan, Sandilands, etc. Even Thorpe if possible, as his opinions of the club would provide a bit of balance, as he has had nothing positive to say about the club since his departure in 1974.

Edit: saw a clip of former Essendon star John Birt talking about a new book about John Coleman-coached premiership teams he played in 1962 and 1965. John Birt was assistant coach at Footscray under both Bob Rose and Bill Goggin. I know he knows where a lot of skeletons are hidden at WO, but don't think anyone has ever asked him. Birt was there when we recruited Huppatz, Featherby, Sachse, Gallagher, Parke, etc, was there when Robert Rose and Neil Sachse had their careers ended by neck injuries, saw Bob Rose struggle with both injuries behind the scenes, saw Thorpe try to undermine Rose then leave, saw Goggin arrive, with Hampshire and Newland in tow as former team mates. Someone could write a book just on John Birt's recollections of his 4(?) years at WO...

If anyone was to interview Birt, it needs to be someone who knows and understands the era, e.g. the conflict at the time between the council, the footy club, the cricket club and the social club, and how that played more broadly into the consistent upheaval behind the scenes, and the struggle for $$$ and to maintain a viable entity. The struggle between personalities like Jack Collins, Charlie Sutton and Dick Collinson and others to be in control, old slights and past feuds between former team mates playing out politically in the running, or ruining, of the club. Instances like Fred Cook's departure as a player, while partly Cook's fault, was also him being a pawn between Collins and Sutton trying to assert domination as president and coach, while EJ was out of the picture temporarily in his player-only stint between coaching tenures.

 

[Fossie 32]

There's dogwatch 's thread on footy books here

Review - Footy Books

There are plenty of footy books published every year. A lot of them are purportedly by particular players (but usually have the support of an experienced author or journalist). I tend to avoid these as they are usually fairly trite and uncritical hagiographies. As such, they have a very short...

www.bigfooty.com

 

[geoffjennings79]

This is a fair enough comment. I've bought the book, haven't read it all yet. I'd like to see a book attempt to include interviews broadly from surviving players and coaches of earlier eras. Templeton brought up a couple of interesting tidbits of his departure recently on "The Front Bar". Need coaches Goggin and McKenzie (doubt Hart would participate) to give their views on the 70s/80s era (Don McKenzie as well as senior coach in 78/79, also acted as Bluey Hampshire 's assistant in 82/83, as well as a long stint as reserves coach).
Also need to capture recollections of older guys while still around - Bissett, Dempsey, Welsh, Quinlan, Sandilands, etc. Even Thorpe if possible, as his opinions of the club would provide a bit of balance, as he has had nothing positive to say about the club since his departure in 1974.

Edit: saw a clip of former Essendon star John Birt talking about a new book about John Coleman-coached premiership teams he played in 1962 and 1965. John Birt was assistant coach at Footscray under both Bob Rose and Bill Goggin. I know he knows where a lot of skeletons are hidden at WO, but don't think anyone has ever asked him. Birt was there when we recruited Huppatz, Featherby, Sachse, Gallagher, Parke, etc, was there when Robert Rose and Neil Sachse had their careers ended by neck injuries, saw Bob Rose struggle with both injuries behind the scenes, saw Thorpe try to undermine Rose then leave, saw Goggin arrive, with Hampshire and Newland in tow as former team mates. Someone could write a book just on John Birt's recollections of his 4(?) years at WO...

If anyone was to interview Birt, it needs to be someone who knows and understands the era, e.g. the conflict at the time between the council, the footy club, the cricket club and the social club, and how that played more broadly into the consistent upheaval behind the scenes, and the struggle for $$$ and to maintain a viable entity. The struggle between personalities like Jack Collins, Charlie Sutton and Dick Collinson and others to be in control, old slights and past feuds between former team mates playing out politically in the running, or ruining, of the club. Instances like Fred Cook's departure as a player, while partly Cook's fault, was also him being a pawn between Collins and Sutton trying to assert domination as president and coach, while EJ was out of the picture temporarily in his player-only stint between coaching tenures.

Just an addendum. Some recollections need to be viewed through the prism of time, and fading memories. Don't know if anyone saw the "behind the scenes" videos posted from the Collingwood centenary game at the G. One featured Liber senior and Big Demps in the players race, Demps telling Liber that Georgie Bissett lost the 69 Brownlow because he was reported for belting "Big Carl" (as in Ditterich, from St Kilda). Georgie didn't get his deserved BOG 3 Brownlow votes as he was reported for hitting Ian Robertson of Carlton (retaliation for Robbo betting a young Bulldog, so the story goes). Georgie got off, but lost the 69 medal to Bulldog Murray by 1 vote. Maybe Demps wanted it to be Ditterich, so in his mind/memory, that's what he remembers. Demps had the wood on Ditterich in pure ruck contest terms, but Carl had some "interesting" tactics to get under the skin of guys like Dempsey and Thompson...

"The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there..."
L.P.Hartley, one time member of The Go-Betweens, I think.

 

[TiAn_]

Just an addendum. Some recollections need to be viewed through the prism of time, and fading memories. Don't know if anyone saw the "behind the scenes" videos posted from the Collingwood centenary game at the G. One featured Liber senior and Big Demps in the players race, Demps telling Liber that Georgie Bissett lost the 69 Brownlow because he was reported for belting "Big Carl" (as in Ditterich, from St Kilda). Georgie didn't get his deserved BOG 3 Brownlow votes as he was reported for hitting Ian Robertson of Carlton (retaliation for Robbo betting a young Bulldog, so the story goes). Georgie got off, but lost the 69 medal to Bulldog Murray by 1 vote. Maybe Demps wanted it to be Ditterich, so in his mind/memory, that's what he remembers. Demps had the wood on Ditterich in pure ruck contest terms, but Carl had some "interesting" tactics to get under the skin of guys like Dempsey and Thompson...

"The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there..."
L.P.Hartley, one time member of The Go-Betweens, I think.

I’ve had this book since I bought it as a kid at the merchandise stall at the WJ Whitten stand. It only has a page on each player but includes some great insights direct from the players: