The Bulldogs love in won't last forever. Footy is cyclical and the premiership drought thing is done. No one is going to go into 2017 saying 'I hope the Dogs get up, been such a long time'. How many people wanted West Coast to win in 2005? Not many. The romance of Sydney breaking the 72 year drought had neutrals barring up all over the place. By the they poached Tippett and Buddy people were actually cheering for Hawthorn. I remember hating Bulldogs in the 1990s. Dirty Libba scragging a teenage Ben Cousins, Gardiner being targeted at the Whitten Oval, Danny Southern trying to soothe Peter Sumich by removing the flow of oxygen into his body. Within a few years our two clubs were trading amicably, had a few great and fair contests and perspectives changed. They'll change again. People will get sick of looking at Stringer's stupid head and Tom Liberatore's Mario Bros moustache and want the Dogs to lose. They've got players named 'Easton', 'Tory', 'Zaine', 'Caleb' and 'Fletcher'. Team sheet reads like the line up of a boy band. Oh and #FreeKickBulldogs. The hate will come, mark my words.
Richmond, Melbourne and St Kilda are next in line. Or maybe Freo if they have another period of stinking. My tip is Melbourne. Original club, a powerhouse until the 1950s, decades in the wilderness then a decade of defying the cyclical nature of the equalised comp to stay at the bottom, then Paul 'my farts smell better than Bob Murphy's' Roos is parachuted in and after 485 draft picks they are just outside the 8. You just know if Melbourne win the 2019 flag or something that Gerard and Robbo are going to fly Roosy in from LA or wherever he lives in the states so he can bang on about your Hoganys your Wattsys your Jacky Vineyys.