The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition.
Anthony Liberatore is a former Australian rules footballer who represented the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Matthew Keith Boyd is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Before joining the Bulldogs, Boyd had played for Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup and Frankston in the VFL. He currently holds the record for the most AFL games played by a player recruited from the rookie draft. Boyd is the grand nephew of Australian football vendor icon Johnny Boyd, known as the Peanut Man.
Thomas Francis Liberatore is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). At 1.84 m (6.0 ft) and 85 kg (187 lb), he plays as a contested ball-winning midfielder who applies high amounts of pressure. He is the eldest son of former Bulldogs player Tony Liberatore. He was born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria while attending St Kevin's College, and played top-level junior football with the Calder Cannons in the NAB League.
Isaac Smith is a former Australian rules football player who previously played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League. Smith was drafted by the Hawthorn with the 19th pick in the 2010 AFL draft and played ten seasons for the Hawks. He took part in each of Hawthorn's three consecutive Grand Final victories from 2013 to 2015. Following the 2020 season, Smith moved to the Geelong Football Club as a free agent and played with the Cats for three seasons. He won his fourth premiership with Geelong in 2022 and was awarded the Norm Smith Medal as the game's best player. Smith retired from AFL at the conclusion of the 2023 AFL season, his third year at Geelong.
Luke Dahlhaus is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He received a nomination for the 2011 AFL Rising Star award in round 21 of the 2011 season. Dahlhaus was a member of the Bulldogs team that won the premiership in 2016, the Bulldogs' first in 62 years.
Orren Stephenson is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Bradley Hill is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Hawthorn Football Club from 2012 to 2016, and for the Fremantle Football Club between 2017 and 2019. He is a very quick running player who plays as a wingman.
Jonathan Simpkin is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club, Hawthorn Football Club and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Nicknamed "Joffa", his younger brother, Tom Simpkin was also a professional Australian rules footballer who played for St Kilda.
Mark Hutchings is an Australian rules footballer who last played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL) and currently plays for West Perth Football Club. From Perth, Western Australia, Hutchings captained his state at the 2009 National Under-18 Championships, and, having also played for East Perth in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), was selected by St Kilda in the 2010 Rookie Draft. A midfielder, he was delisted after a season at the club without having made his senior debut, and transferred to West Perth upon his return to Western Australia. Establishing himself as a regular player for the team, Hutchings was one of the competition's best players during the 2012 season, playing state football, finishing second in the Sandover Medal, and winning West Perth's best and fairest award. He was drafted by West Coast at the 2012 National Draft, and made his senior AFL debut during the 2013 season, playing nine matches during his debut season, as well as playing in a premiership for West Perth.
Taylor Duryea is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Duryea initially played with Wahgunyah in the Coreen & District Football League, winning back to back Coreen & DFL Thirds best and fairest awards in 2004 and 2005.
Sam Naismith is a professional Australian rules footballer for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for the Sydney Swans between 2014 and 2022 before being delisted.
The 2016 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between Sydney and the Western Bulldogs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 1 October 2016. It was the 121st annual Grand Final of the Australian Football League, staged to determine the premiers of the 2016 AFL season. The match, attended by 99,981 spectators, was won by the Bulldogs by a margin of 22 points, marking the club's second VFL/AFL premiership victory and first since 1954. It was the first time in VFL/AFL history that a team won the premiership from seventh place on the ladder. Jason Johannisen of the Bulldogs was awarded the Norm Smith Medal as the best player on the ground.
Roarke Smith is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 2015 until 2023. Smith was drafted with the fifth selection in the 2015 rookie draft. He made his AFL debut late in the 2015 season against West Coast. Just one week after his debut, he suffered an Anterior cruciate ligament injury which left him injured until July 2016. He played in the Bulldogs' 2016 VFL premiership team. In March 2017, he again ruptured his ACL. He was delisted by the Western Bulldogs at the conclusion of the 2017 season. He was later re-drafted by the Western Bulldogs in the 2018 rookie draft. He was involved in a car crash in 2018 which saw him miss one game. After having a breakout 2021 season, playing 14 games, he signed on with the Bulldogs on the main list.
Joshua Dunkley is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Liam Baker is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played junior representative football with West Perth in the WAFL and represented Western Australia at national championships at under 18 level. After being undrafted in 2016, Baker then played senior WAFL football with Subiaco. Baker was drafted by the Richmond tigers in the 2018 rookie draft and made his AFL debut in round 19, 2018. He was an AFL premiership player with Richmond in 2019 and 2020, and in 2020 was named to the AFL's 22Under22 team, recognising the best young players in the league. In 2022, Baker was presented the AFLPA most Courageous in the AFL award. The captain of the Richmond Football Club, Dylan Grimes, presented the award to Baker, with Patrick Dangerfield announcing the achievement.
Ed Richards is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the Western Bulldogs with their second selection and sixteenth overall in the 2017 national draft. He made his debut in the 51-point loss to West Coast at Etihad Stadium in Round 2 of the 2018 season. His family has a long history in the VFL/AFL, particularly the Collingwood Football Club, whereby his great-great-grandfather is Charlie Pannam Sr., his grandfather is Ron Richards, and his great uncle is Lou Richards.
Conor Nash is an Irish professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
The 2016 AFL First Preliminary Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Greater Western Sydney Giants and Western Bulldogs at Spotless Stadium on 24 September 2016. It was staged as part of the 2016 AFL finals series to determine which of the two clubs would qualify for that season's Grand Final.
The 2021 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia, on Saturday 25 September 2021. It was the 126th annual grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL), staged to determine the premiers of the 2021 AFL season. As the top-placed side on the ladder at the end of the 2021 home-and-away season, Melbourne finished minor premiers; conversely, the Western Bulldogs faded in the final four home-and-away games to finish 5th, thus needing to win all of their finals games to qualify for the grand final.
