Bulldogs young gun Sam Darcy has the potential to become one of the league’s best players. Photo: AFL MEDIA

WESTERN BULLDOGS
2024 record: 14 wins, 10 losses (7th)

THE INS
Matthew Kennedy (Carlton), Cooper Hynes (Dandenong Stingrays), Lachie Jacques (Geelong Falcons), Josh Dolan (Sandringham Dragons), Sam Davidson (Richmond VFL), Luke Kennedy (Sandringham Dragons)

THE OUTS
Jack Macrae (St Kilda), Bailey Smith (Geelong), Caleb Daniel (North Melbourne), Alex Keath (retired), Aiden O’Driscoll (retired), Dominc Bedendo (delisted), Kelsey Rypstra (delisted), Charlie Clarke (delisted)

THE STRENGTHS
When the Bulldogs are hot, they are really hot. They headed into the 2024 finals series as arguably the form team in the AFL, winning 11 of their last 15 home-and-away games. They might have finished the year outside the top four (as they so often do), but there was a strong sense of destiny about them like in 2016. The Bulldogs’ hit list from Round 10 onwards was bursting with quality as they took care of runner-up Sydney at the SCG, preliminary finalist Geelong at Kardinia Park and semi-finalist GWS twice, as well as Collingwood and Fremantle when they were neck-deep in the finals race. And once again, the Bulldogs head into a new season wanting for very little. The Dogs did a hell of a lot right last year, finishing with both the best defence and second-ranked attack in the league. They have one of the most stacked playing lists in the AFL, with their midfield and forward line, in particular, brimming with elite talent. Their on-ball brigade is led by the incomparable Marcus Bontempelli and also features first-time All-Australian Adam Treloar, Tom Liberatore and Ed Richards who absolutely flourished in his move from the backline last year. And they’ve got star ruckman Tim English in the mix as well. That engine room played a big role in the Dogs finishing the season an impressive first for inside 50s, third for clearances, fourth for centre clearances, fifth for disposals and sixth for contested possessions. Up forward they have one of the most exciting key position pairings in Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton, while Cody Weightman and Rhylee West have the potential to become a seriously damaging small forward pairing. The Bulldogs’ forward pressure was immense last year as they were No.1 for tackles inside 50 and their attacking efficiency was also elite, coming in fourth for scores per inside 50. Down back, Liam Jones remains one of the best intercepting forces in the league and the revelation of Rory Lobb was extraordinary as he benefitted tremendously from the coaching masterstroke of switching him from the forward line to become one of the most effective key defenders across the competition. The dashing Bailey Dale is a bona fide star as well. The Dogs were top five for intercepts last season, and their enviable complement of tall timber shot them up to fourth and fifth for contested marks and marks respectively. The Bulldogs were also relatively clean in 2024, ranking fifth for turnovers. With the third-oldest and fifth-most experienced list, the time is now for the Dogs to make hay while the sun is shining.

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THE WEAKNESSES
The Dogs made yet another slow start in 2024, with just three wins from their first eight games, which makes it very hard to finish in the top four where they probably belong. Despite their rampaging recovery from that position, there were sporadic stinkers dotted throughout that super run of form. The Bulldogs are capable of imploding when you least expect it, and sadly for them, they produced an absolute doozy at the worst possible time in their elimination final against Hawthorn. It was the Bulldogs’ fifth elimination final loss from seven attempts in Luke Beveridge’s 10-year reign, and it’s an unsatisfactory record, especially given the enormous wealth of talent that has been at the club’s disposal during most of that period. Despite consistently boasting such a talented list, the Dogs continue to struggle to make the top four. In fact, they’ve never done so under Beveridge. Last year was yet another reminder for the Bulldogs of how important the double chance is. They cannot keep sneaking into the top eight, hoping they’ll win a flag the hard way. But unfortunately for Beveridge, due to a personnel crisis, he won’t be able to settle on the make-up of his team in the first third of the season, so they might be forced to play catch-up again after the cavalry arrives. Bontempelli (calf), Treloar (calf), Weightman (knee), Jones (hamstring) and Jason Johannisen (hamstring) are all expected to miss decent chunks of footy, while Dale (quad), Richards (calf) and West (hamstring) are all under a cloud for Round 1. Compounding matters is that the Dogs lost quite a bit of depth over the summer with Jack Macrae (St Kilda), Bailey Smith (Geelong), Caleb Daniel (North Melbourne) and Alex Keath (retired) all departing. And that brings us to Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. In the midst of this savage injury epidemic, the last thing the club needed was an unavailability own goal, let alone one from one of their brightest stars. But as it stands Ugle-Hagan, who looked set to become one of the game’s best young key forwards this year after a sparkling 2024, will not be sighted on an AFL field any time soon. His off-field antics have reportedly led to fractured relationships with coach Beveridge, captain Bontempelli and Lobb, and it’s a long way back from there.

ONE TO WATCH
Darcy isn’t even 22 yet, and already he looms as a future superstar of the competition. It’s not over the top to suggest that he could be the best key forward in the league in the next 24 months. In his first full season last year, the son of a gun kicked 38 goals, including a seven-goal bag against North Melbourne. When the giant 205cm forward puts his arms in the air to take a mark, he is basically unstoppable and he could set the AFL alight this year.

UNDER THE PUMP
Ugle-Hagan is under contract until the end of 2026, but he might very well have played his last game for the Bulldogs, such is the seriousness of the predicament he finds himself in. If he doesn’t smarten up quickly and realise that he could be throwing away his promising career, he might end up as just the latest in a long line of super talents who got in their own way and never realised their full potential.

BEST 23
B: Taylor Duryea, Liam Jones, James O’Donnell
HB: Bailey Dale, Rory Lobb, Jason Johannisen
C: Ed Richards, Tom Liberatore, Bailey Williams
HF: Laitham Vandermeer, Aaron Naughton, James Harmes
F: Cody Weightman, Sam Darcy, Rhylee West
R: Tim English, Marcus Bontempelli, Adam Treloar
Inter: Matthew Kennedy, Ryley Sanders, Harvey Gallagher, Joel Freijah, Lachlan Bramble
Emerg: Lachie McNeil, Buku Khamis, Riley Garcia

Sadly for the Dogs, this team won’t be assembled for quite some time due to their lengthy injury list.
Ugle-Hagan has been left out due to the uncertainty surrounding his future. If he doesn’t come back, the big question will be: where does Beveridge play Lobb? Given how brilliant he was in defence in the second half of last season, that’s where he remains for now.

*all team stat rankings mentioned are based on differentials, not totals (apart from overall offence and defence).