Have the last two years soured the 2016 Premiership?

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Legitimate question.

We did so much right to build a new image for our football club leading up to 2016. Instead of letting Griffen leave us with nothing and be seen as a picking grounds for the likes of GWS, we threw the sink at Boyd and landed him.

We got rid of questionable characters like Lake, Cooney and Higgins at the time.

We embraced the football world and the narrative of a fairytale on our way to achieving the ultimate success in 2016 with what I still believe is the greatest triumph in AFL history.

Despite all that and much more, two years on and we have regressed back to a tragic history of letting players go for unders (Stevens, Hrovat, Hamling, Stringer), in fighting (Alberti/Gordon, Dalrymple/McCartney etc), poor injury management and even poorer performances. Instead of embracing the football world, we are stubborn, arrogant and isolated.

The reality is this: it's never as good or as bad as it seems. Perhaps the upward trajectory begins next year (let's hope), but even so, as amazing as 2016 was in years to come I can't help but think we've tarnished it because people will say/think "Yeah, amazing 2016 premiership... followed by the world's worst defence of all time".

The media talks about Richmond revolutionising AFL footy with pressure and going on a dynasty, when in truth we changed the game with pressure and should have been building to sustained success.

I'm disappointed we didn't capitalise on success, frustrated we were drinking our own bath water and sitting on our hands, astonished at our inconsistent messaging and completely bereft of confidence in this club to turn it around.

So, despite the enormity of 2016, has it been soured for you in any way by the last two seasons?

[Sedat]

Good post TBB. The achievement of winning the 2016 premiership has only been enhanced after the following two seasons for mine. It is, and will always be, the greatest finals series played by any team in history.

What has annoyed me more than anything this season has been the sabotaging and talking down of the 2016 flag by our own people to seemingly justify/explain our inept performances since. All of Bevo, Granty and Bob (not officially part of the club but still a massive voice) were guilty of this, and it is as galling today as it was when our club leaders ridiculously tried to frame this idiotic (and frankly incorrect) narrative a few months ago. And all to appease our greatest detractors - WTF were we thinking.

The players who have partied too hard and not knuckled down since the flag are only hurting their own careers. They will always be premiership heroes. More will go but it is not going to hurt the fabric of the club. Progress needs to be made and we need to be planning our assault on the next premiership calmly and rationally with a clear understanding of where we are at, where we want to get to and how we are going to get there.

Clearly we need to make significant changes to our coaching group and our fitness & conditioning staff/program - both are quite obviously broken and need to be repaired. Also our marketing and communications dept has been inept this season on all levels. I will give Gordo and the board the opportunity to conduct a vigorous review of the entire club at the end of this season, and they absolutely should. If this doesn't happen, they are simply not doing their basic job. What will sour me is if we sit on our hands at the end of this season and do nothing or make a couple of token changes.

[Daughter of the West]

Not soured. Nothing can touch 2016 as far as I'm concerned.

I think it has made the last two seasons harder to take though. If so many things went so right to achieve 2016, how all of a sudden can things be so wrong that we are so far off the mark two seasons later?

I would argue that things started to go south the minute we promised the good people of Ballarat a visit from the players and ended up only sending Bevo and Gordon. It feels like it has only snowballed from there.

So many of the little things appear not to have been taken care of, and slowly, but surely, they have built up into big things. I don't know if it was just complacency, how we've always done things, new people, old people, all of the above or something extra.

And I think to neutrals, it cements more in their minds that we were "lucky." It would never happen, but I would love to have been a fly on the wall at Whitten Oval and Punt Road after the grand final wins and compare what happened at both places.

[Mofra]

No - simply because Richmond haven't won a game interstate since Federation and you have to go back years to find a team that is not an MCG tenant and won the flag without COLA.

There are a myriad of reasons that have contributed to our fall but that is unrelated to the events that took us to a flag in a year that we managed 19 wins.

[Sedat]

I would argue that things started to go south the minute we promised the good people of Ballarat a visit from the players and ended up only sending Bevo and Gordon. It feels like it has only snowballed from there.
Yeah that was a bad look - was dumb in hindsight to schedule a trip to Ballarat on Monday after the flag, when we could have done it Thu or Fri of that week and had the players there. Hawthorn had no trouble getting down to Launceston a few days after their 2013-2015 premierships to celebrate with their Tassie fans.

[Topdog]

Nope not at all. Still brilliant and always will be.

[The bulldog tragician]

It was an achievement that I suspect will grow in magnitude. Let’s see how long it takes for another team to win four finals including two on the road.

I don’t think it can be tarnished though there is something unique and disillusioning about how quickly the reversal has happened. It feels weird to look at some guys who played such enormous contributions and see them plodding away, not because they are at the end of their career but because they extracted every ounce that year and can’t do so again.

I now realise that the majority of the group won’t be there for our next challenge and that saddens me.

I too really dislike our clubs strange decision to downplay the flag. The ‘we got lucky’ narrative is for our detractors. It says to me we can’t handle success. We’re still like the battling Dogs, a bit embarrassed by our success and unable to proudly acknowledge we did something special while still being hellbent on learning how to do it again.

[bornadog]

Nothing has soured the 2016 premiership and never will.

All I want for next year is changes in the assistant coaches with a senior person coming in to work with Bevo and a review of Fitness and Medical departments to ensure we don't have two more years of horrendous injuries.

I want members and supporters to continue to put their hands in their pocket and keep the club in a profitable position that is sustainable for the future and for the continued support from members instead of whinging and carrying on by some.

We are now one of the richer clubs (zero debt) and really cementing ourselves in the Western Suburbs and the western corridor of Victoria, with great community programmes.

However, we need to improve our PR and ensure members, and the public are well informed with our achievements.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Nothing can ever sour 2016. What has transpired the last 2 years is a failure to build on the premiership not because of the premiership.

Everyone has summed up my thoughts. It's extremely frustrating to think of what we could have built on the back of the flag. Words like dynasty and powerhouse come to mind and we've completely let that slip.

[I'm Not Bitter Anymore!]

Nothing can ever sour 2016. What has transpired the last 2 years is a failure to build on the premiership not because of the premiership.

Everyone has summed up my thoughts. It's extremely frustrating to think of what we could have built on the back of the flag. Words like dynasty and powerhouse come to mind and we've completely let that slip.

Beautifully put

[hujsh]

No - simply because Richmond haven't won a game interstate since Federation and you have to go back years to find a team that is not an MCG tenant and won the flag without COLA.

There are a myriad of reasons that have contributed to our fall but that is unrelated to the events that took us to a flag in a year that we managed 19 wins.

Essendon the only other team to be based at Etihad and win and that was way back in 2000 when the stadium was opened. Think this also makes our achievement all the more impressive.

[DOG GOD]

Certainly hasn’t tarnished the premiership, but boy the last 2 seasons have been a bitter pill to swallow. We had everything to build on that victory, going into 2017 with a continued hunger to make us a powerhouse. Make us a feared team, but we lost the plot in all accounts (party nature, lack lustre players, poor player management decisions, and my #1 pet hate of changing the coaches around for nothing more than ego sake).

For me the fall from grace proved we didn’t have the playing group that craved success...it seemed that once they tasted it, that one taste wasn’t infectious for them, and that really saddens me. To watch the success of Brisbane and hawthorn shows that a strong playing group can indeed succeed over multiple years, but not to be for us.

Like others have stated, if a full review of every dept is not sought after, I will not be a happy member. Changes HAVE to be made, and it starts with the coaching group, then the conditioning staff, then the playing list. I will be watching with eagle eyes.

[Greystache]

The past 2 years haven't tarnished the premiership, but if feels like an eternity ago now.

Last year was deflating after so much expectation, this year is nothing short of disgraceful. We've gotten so much wrong in the past 2 years. It seems like so many people are on incredibly good terms with themselves and haven't noticed that if the season started 10 weeks ago we'd be pushing for the wooden spoon. We fielded a team on the weekend that had 11 premiership players plus and extra 3 experienced players with circa a decade in the system (Wallis, Crozier, Trengove) and scored a miserable 34 points and yet again had our score doubled. We look under-prepared across all lines and it's impossible to see anything the team stands for or are trying to achieve on the field. To fall so far so fast is almost as astounding as the initial climb.

We are at ground zero and it feels like history has repeated itself and we've found our comfortable place in the scheme of football.

[GVGjr]

I hate the fact that we have slipped back so far and as a club I don't think we've done enough to address it. We lived like millionaires on the success of the flag and have essentially played like we have a miserable budget to work with since.
We've simply been way to accepting of our poor form and results by both the club and many of the supporters.

There were signs that we weren't focused in the trading period of 2016 and I think we took a real step back.
There were also signs early on in 2017 that a few players were having a gap year and I don't think we did anywhere near enough to address that probably because a few wins early in the season provided false bravado for those who didn't want to look any further than the win loss column backing it in that it would all simply click for us. It didn't.
The issues and challenges we were facing were disguised by those unconvincing wins and it wasn't until the end of 2017 that we took the bull by the horns and made an example of....just one player.

It hasn't soured the winning of the flag, we more than deserved it, but I'm determined in my expectation that the club needs to turn it around.
I'm not as trusting with my faith of the players, some have drawn a substantial wage so many of us would envy and simply haven't done enough to deserve it. Complacency is a killer and the club needs to work out if anyone at the club is just content to go through the motions and if so then they need to be moved on.

As a club we need to stop looking admiringly in the rear view mirror and fully focus on moving forward.

[bulldogtragic]

I wouldn't say soured. Frustrated we had the garden of Eden to ourselves, and just only had to not *!*!*!*! it up... But we couldn't do it for Bob, it didn't seem we even wanted to do it seriously for Bob.

We played with Batman-like strength, power and determination for justice. But the last two years the club seems to be run by Harvey Two-Face (aka Harvey Dent). Whether we select a good team is a matter of chance, flip of the coin, bad/good luck. Whether our comm's team does a decent job is the same. How we even won it moreso. Injuries... It's as if Harvey Two-Face is Chris Bell flipping a coin on whether repeat or preventable injuries occur... (9 minutes before playing Collingwood) "Hey Suckers, how's that Achilles?". "Good to go Harvey/Chris". "Let's see about that, heads you play, tails your out for the year..."

I don't accept this Harvey Two-Face luck 'logic' about what has got us to here. Bad luck isn't an explanation. Every bit I don't accept that we wouldn't wish our strategy of bouncing back is:

"WBFC Strategic plan:

1. How we are returning to success?

The board and footy department believe luck turning is all the change is needed.

End Plan."


I desperately want to believe the club will change significantly the players, coaches, fitness and key admin roles. But I'm lost some faith. Soured isn't the word. We had the entire footy world at our feet, and decided to kick it the gonads and piss away maybe the only chance all of us may ever see to have a dynasty side or even turn into a powerhouse. Maybe I'd go with sad, tragic, disappointed, wasted, regretful, woeful, a shame, upset, cliche, lost, future-harming, preventable etc. But not soured about our Cinderella 4 weeks.

[Flamethrower]

After we won it all I made the comment that we could go winless for the next 5 years and I wouldn't care. Waiting 40+ years does that. We have actually won 16 games since that day - bonus.

[SonofScray]

Not tarnished but it has made events subsequent very bitter to swallow.

Full credit to Richmond, they are surging ahead and riding their wave. I am envious that while our achievement has been whittled away, downplayed and denigrated they have swallowed up the narrative we laid out. Our flag was the greatest run in history, a story to save the game. It's theirs now. We've pissed it away. Crawled back into our box as a club, which suits everyone but us just fine I imagine.

The power of the flag is still there though. If we had not have won, this current run of form would be reported as an existential crisis. Things can be salvaged. Richmond fall over, no one else goes on a tear and we hit a rich vein of form in the next few seasons it could well be a golden generation. Feels along way off though.

[LostDoggy]

After the flag I waited so long for and thought would never come I decided that I dont have to care about football anymore.

Unfortunately, I think the same almost every week then come game time I am fully invested again. Its self inflicted harm!

Nothing will sour the win but I had expected things to change moving forward. Wrong again.

Seems like a wasted opportunity to change the profile of the club.

[chef]

No.

All I ever wanted was to know that feeling of GF week and winning a flag. And TBH I never expected to ever know that feeling but hey how wrong was I. We got to witness the greatest flag ever and nothing can ever sour that, even if we didn't win a game for the next decade.

That migration to Sydney along the Hume and the week after is something I'll never ever forget.

[G-Mo77]

No not tarnished, it never will be, it will always be one of the best achievements in AFL history from any club.

It has made it harder to put up with the drop off though as expectations are a lot higher. It's certainly a missed opportunity for the club to put our mark on the AFL map but we've slumped back to being an irrelevant battling club just making up the numbers. Disappointing.

[bornadog]

No not tarnished, it never will be, it will always be one of the best achievements in AFL history from any club.

It has made it harder to put up with the drop off though as expectations are a lot higher. It's certainly a missed opportunity for the club to put our mark on the AFL map but we've slumped back to being an irrelevant battling club just making up the numbers. Disappointing.

whilst mostly all true I would say we aren’t a battling club anymore, at least not off field. We are debt free and have great facilities that are about to get even better.

[Twodogs]

No nothing could ever tarnish that whole month. It was perfect.


But I hate to lose. And it's even worse when it's mostly self inflicted carnage. Those first two weeks if the season were embarrassing. It was like the season started before we were expecting it to.

[Rocket Science]

I can cop not winning a flag every year ... I suppose.

But did we have to plummet so embarrassingly?

Watching a mob like Richmond back up as professionally as they have - RICHMOND fer chrissake - really gives me the shits.

[bulldogtragic]

I can cop not winning a flag every year ... I suppose.

But did we have to plummet so embarrassingly?

Watching a mob like Richmond back up as professionally as they have - RICHMOND fer chrissake - really gives me the shits.

Especially when we all potted Hardwick for telling his players to not back up like our players did. Turns out to be sound advice.

[Go_Dogs]

My passion for the game and level of emotional investment has soured.

Thinking about our flag can still brighten my day, although walking home from work past the G doesn't quite feel as special as it did 12 months ago.

[G-Mo77]

whilst mostly all true I would say we aren’t a battling club anymore, at least not off field. We are debt free and have great facilities that are about to get even better.

If on field doesn't improve it'll eventually have an effect off field. We had a chance to really build on that, we blew it.

[Grantysghost]

Not in the slightest for me. Injuries are an excuse; I was lucky enough to bail up Clay for a minute before his lap and I congratulated him on his career and thanked him for the premiership. I even (embarrassingly) said the prelim had more of an effect on me (after 7 previous losses) and he agreed it was a better game but obviously the ultimate was the ultimate. Clay Smith, Liam Picken, Jake Stringer, Tom Liberatore, Tory Dickson, Matthew Boyd, Joel Hamling were so influential in that finals series. A third of the side that hasn't played for one reason or another.
When we get a decent run at it, with the talent we have it's going to be happy times again.

[Doc26]

Our poor return in 2017 was largely justified with the hangover effect, conveniently drawing comparison to Hawthorn's drop off in 2009.

Another year on and we are appearing, at least on-field, like the old battling, beleaguered Bulldogs.

Bevo is still young in coaching terms and like our young kids appears completely cooked himself. Just look at each week's post game members video, which is now done a day or two after match day, and he is coming across more and more tired and broken.

In isolation I could accept a fall in 2017 but another year on, and further apparent regression, a top down review including PG's and Chris Grant's effect/influence on our sub-standard Football Operations must be undertaken with haste.

From the outside looking in it does beggar belief that little personnel was changed in our coaching ranks after 2017.

As much as Chris Grant is a champion of our Club he must now step up and make wise and strong decisions that may mean moving some mates on.

[Sedat]

We are debt free and have great facilities that are about to get even better.
This is all true, but it highlights what a complete and utter failure our marketing and communications dept has been in 2018. Controlling the narrative is a skill that we don't have at all, and it is frustrating to say the least.

[SonofScray]

I have been thinking about this a bit more today and it speaks to an idea that I had about the flag. We are really in a flux in terms of identity. When we won the flag, we lost something as well. The narrative of the Club, "the day is getting closer" we invested generations into that identity and understanding of the game and ourselves. Like when you get wisdom teeth pulled, it's a good thing, but you hurt a bit afterwards and poke around the hole for a fair while afterwards.

We really need a strong, unifying voice and clear mission to attach ourselves to. It's not about breaking the Drought now, we have had the best elements of ourselves (loyal, staunch, resilient) affirmed, what next?

The message has to be around an unprecedented era of success, moving past a handful of clubs who historically have had history measure in their favour. Debt free, good facilities, flags in every competition we enter. That is something to hang our hat on. What would be particularly nice would be to go past Norf, Adelaide, PAFC, Sydney and WCE in our life time.

[Twodogs]

I have been thinking about this a bit more today and it speaks to an idea that I had about the flag. We are really in a flux in terms of identity. When we won the flag, we lost something as well. The narrative of the Club, "the day is getting closer" we invested generations into that identity and understanding of the game and ourselves. Like when you get wisdom teeth pulled, it's a good thing, but you hurt a bit afterwards and poke around the hole for a fair while afterwards.

We really need a strong, unifying voice and clear mission to attach ourselves to. It's not about breaking the Drought now, we have had the best elements of ourselves (loyal, staunch, resilient) affirmed, what next?

The message has to be around an unprecedented era of success, moving past a handful of clubs who historically have had history measure in their favour. Debt free, good facilities, flags in every competition we enter. That is something to hang our hat on. What would be particularly nice would be to go past Norf, Adelaide, PAFC, Sydney and WCE in our life time.

That's a really good point SOS. I'd never really thought about what we lost when we won the flag, I guess it's natural to think it's all gains but you are right we did lose a little bit of skin when we pulled that 62 year old scab off. A little bit of the 'battler club' identity (not hard enough evidently) and our tragicomic history was lost.

Now you can argue we are better off without that identity but an identity is an identity. Maybe part of our current problem is we are without a clear idea of who we are and where we go from here?

Cool post-it's given me a bit to think about

[bornadog]

That's a really good point SOS. I'd never really thought about what we lost when we won the flag, I guess it's natural to think it's all gains but you are right we did lose a little bit of skin when we pulled that 62 year old scab off. A little bit of the 'battler club' identity (not hard enough evidently) and our tragicomic history was lost.

Now you can argue we are better off without that identity but an identity is an identity. Maybe part of our current problem is we are without a clear idea of who we are and where we go from here?

Cool post-it's given me a bit to think about

We are trying to now forge an identity that reaches deep into the Western Suburbs and out to the country. Before the premiership we were stuck in Footscray, and then we moved out a bit as people came from everywhere. You only have to look at the grandfinal parade it was the biggest attendance ever, yes bigger than Richmonds. The Western suburbs are the fastest growing area in Australia, and we need to be deeply embedded. Our performance over the past two years hasn't helped because people love winners, but our community work helps us.

We need a big 2019 to keep it rolling along and becoming an even stronger club.

[Twodogs]

We are trying to now forge an identity that reaches deep into the Western Suburbs and out to the country. Before the premiership we were stuck in Footscray, and then we moved out a bit as people came from everywhere. You only have to look at the grandfinal parade it was the biggest attendance ever, yes bigger than Richmonds The Western suburbs are the fastest growing area in Australia, and we need to be deeply embedded. Our performance over the past two years hasn't helped because people love winners, but our community work helps us.

We need a big 2019 to keep it rolling along and becoming an even stronger club.

You're sounding like Sean Spicer now BAD.;)

[bulldogtragic]

whilst mostly all true I would say we aren’t a battling club anymore, at least not off field. We are debt free and have great facilities that are about to get even better.

Some stats out today have us losing the most members in the competition this year, a drop of 9.2% (just one full season between a premiership). I don't want to think about what will happen to next year's numbers after this season. This has got to be concerning Bains and the board. If we drop off too much, I can't see why Mercedes would stay at the end of their contract, and I can't see why other premier sponsors would sign on. Losing that 9.2% in membership revenue! a possible/probable large drop again next year and risks to major sponsorships threatens what the premiership delivered us in 2016.

I really hope we don't replicate the North 1990's flags. They won flags after a long wait, grew membership, owned Friday nights, got major sponsors. Then they dropped off, they forced their marquee player out for behavioural issues and then lost the membership gains and lost the new revenue from this success and went back to being a minnow club again...

[bornadog]

Some stats out today have us losing the most members in the competition this year, a drop of 9.2% (just one full season between a premiership). I don't want to think about what will happen to next year's numbers after this season. This has got to be concerning Bains and the board. If we drop off too much, I can't see why Mercedes would stay at the end of their contract, and I can't see why other premier sponsors would sign on. Losing that 9.2% in membership revenue! a possible/probable large drop again next year and risks to major sponsorships threatens what the premiership delivered us in 2016.

I really hope we don't replicate the North 1990's flags. They won flags after a long wait, grew membership, owned Friday nights, got major sponsors. Then they dropped off, they forced their marquee player out for behavioural issues and then lost the membership gains and lost the new revenue from this success and went back to being a minnow club again...

Weak as piss bandwagon supporters.

[bulldogtragic]

Weak as piss bandwagon supporters.

My oath they are. But their money is dramatically leaving the club this year, and will probably next year. If we can't show Mercedes and others that our membership is growing and worth them continuing to invest in our club, then we will lose that money too. I can't see Ballarat turning in big money for us anytime soon. To your point that we are going well off field, I think that might be a temporary fact if we put in another shocking year or several years of average performances and keep losing members. This incredible drop from premiers to 15th/16th is going to bite us badly, and is currently biting us badly. Such a waste of an opportunity to set the club up for life.

[Sedat]

Weak as piss bandwagon supporters.
That will get them back into the fold.

It's a very important issue that is going to manifest itself in a rather large hole in our membership revenue next season. All the fantastic gains we've made in the last 3 years in eradicating debt, increasing membership and sponsorship revenue, and of course our on-field performance could be wiped away quickly if we aren't 100% vigilant and totally focused in reviewing all aspects of our operation.

"Hey look, we won a flag a couple of years ago" isn't going to get our lapsed members back into the family.

[bornadog]

That will get them back into the fold.

It's a very important issue that is going to manifest itself in a rather large hold in our membership revenue next season. All the fantastic gains we've made in the last 3 years in eradicating debt, increasing membership and sponsorship revenue, and of course our on-field performance could be wiped away quickly if we aren't 100% vigilant and totally focused in reviewing all aspects of our operation.

"Hey look, we won a flag a couple of years ago" isn't going to get our lapsed members back into the family.

May not get them back now, but describes our supporters to a tee. The supporters are the ones with the loser/battler mentality and we need to change that.

[bulldogtragic]

That will get them back into the fold.

It's a very important issue that is going to manifest itself in a rather large hold in our membership revenue next season. All the fantastic gains we've made in the last 3 years in eradicating debt, increasing membership and sponsorship revenue, and of course our on-field performance could be wiped away quickly if we aren't 100% vigilant and totally focused in reviewing all aspects of our operation.

Yep. Keeping ALL our 'honest triers' and 'premiership heroes' in a minimum list change strategy when we need to make tough calls, then keeping all our contracted under performing assistants in place to stunt development generally, not changing tactics towards a team that can kick more than no or one goal a half, keeping all our 'own goal kicking' communications staff, keeping our conditioning and fitness boss/es hoping the 'luck will change' and get players back and hoping just climbing from 16th to 10th will stop the hemorrhaging of members and then possible major sponsors and stunt Ballarat as a solid revenue source... Simply, if nothing changes above. Nothing will change on field. But a lot will change off field for the worse. The thing is, it's within the control of the club to make the changes, to improves, to adapt, to change, to improve. I hope I'm very, very wrong. But I don't see the club making enough change to make enough change to the course we are on to proving John Elliott correct. I hope I'm very, very wrong...

[Ozza]

It hasn’t soured 2016 for me. It has been a frustrating 2 seasons, but I found myself watching The Outsiders doco the other day, and it still brings me joy and emotion. I don’t think anything will take away that amazing month. And to shake off the hoodoo of prelim losses and to no longer be a club ‘with only one flag’ is fantastic. It even means I can feel positive about 1954. In the past it was always prefaced with ‘haven’t won a premiership since...’ so there was a negative connotation around the ‘54 win for me.

Amongst my closest mates, 4 of them are Melbourne supporters and one is a saint - and they would give anything to see their teams win a flag. I used to get pretty bitter around Grand Final time to be honest, having never experienced Grand Final week where your team is one of the two being focused on. Another year without us winning the premiership, another year where its not us in the Parade or in the Grand Final footy record. But that bitterness or jealously is gone now. If I’m 100% honest, I probably would have hated if my Dees or Saints supporting mates got to experience that GF win before me - which is not a nice thing to say, but that’s what footy can do I guess!

I don’t think it is going to take too much to turn us back around so that we are a good side again in the Bont-era. Our core group of good players are still very young - we need to get a good run with our best players out there. We will of course make list changes, but that doesn’t usually greatly impact your best/core players. We are desperate to have at least one or two of our talks become good footballers though.

[Twodogs]

When you think about it, it's just bad luck really.

[Greystache]

Some stats out today have us losing the most members in the competition this year, a drop of 9.2% (just one full season between a premiership). I don't want to think about what will happen to next year's numbers after this season. This has got to be concerning Bains and the board. If we drop off too much, I can't see why Mercedes would stay at the end of their contract, and I can't see why other premier sponsors would sign on. Losing that 9.2% in membership revenue! a possible/probable large drop again next year and risks to major sponsorships threatens what the premiership delivered us in 2016.

I really hope we don't replicate the North 1990's flags. They won flags after a long wait, grew membership, owned Friday nights, got major sponsors. Then they dropped off, they forced their marquee player out for behavioural issues and then lost the membership gains and lost the new revenue from this success and went back to being a minnow club again...

Less than 10% is about 4000 members. A tiny number in reality which shows we have easily the least bandwagon supporters. Richmond have added 28,000 members this year, that means 28,000 supporters that wouldn't buy a membership until they won a premiership. They've also added 47,000 members since they started playing regular finals from 2013. That means 47,000 supporters who wouldn't buy a membership unless they were good. That's more members that won't buy a membership unless they're good than we have actual members. 5,000 fluctuation is almost a rounding error by comparison.

Our members are incredibly loyal which is a credit to our supporter base.

[The bulldog tragician]

I have been thinking about this a bit more today and it speaks to an idea that I had about the flag. We are really in a flux in terms of identity. When we won the flag, we lost something as well. The narrative of the Club, "the day is getting closer" we invested generations into that identity and understanding of the game and ourselves. Like when you get wisdom teeth pulled, it's a good thing, but you hurt a bit afterwards and poke around the hole for a fair while afterwards.

We really need a strong, unifying voice and clear mission to attach ourselves to. It's not about breaking the Drought now, we have had the best elements of ourselves (loyal, staunch, resilient) affirmed, what next?

The message has to be around an unprecedented era of success, moving past a handful of clubs who historically have had history measure in their favour. Debt free, good facilities, flags in every competition we enter. That is something to hang our hat on. What would be particularly nice would be to go past Norf, Adelaide, PAFC, Sydney and WCE in our life time.

This is very true. We were waiting, waiting...would this group be the one? We were looking back...why didn’t that group achieve it? And then, we won it in a year we least expected it (at least by season’s end when we were 7th and going to Perth).

Now we are...what? It feels weird to be rebuilding when we still have a core of premiership players under 23yo. In the barren years we could always pin our hopes on the kids, and we do have some terrific ones, but at the same time we’re probably going to offload a bunch of premiership players, so we’re in a sort of limbo.

The best years, most exciting ones have often been when a special new group emerges. 2006, 1997, 2015, and you could just strap on for the ride. That feeling is yet to emerge. Every week there are new players, lack of continuity, lack of chemistry in the group, and that makes it harder to get onboard and get enthiastic about a new story.

To be honest I’ve been surprised at how quickly bitterness and anger has returned among the fans. Of course no one is happy that we’re playing so poorly and winning a flag shouldn’t mean we couldn’t care less any more, but it’s almost like some feel even more venomous & hostile because they finally got to feel like winners and it’s a betrayal to go back to the bad old days.

[hujsh]

Weak as piss bandwagon supporters.

For most people a football club is not an entity that inherently deserves your money. They are an entertainment product. With the product we have provided this year I can't blame people for wanting to spend the money on something else.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

To be honest I’ve been surprised at how quickly bitterness and anger has returned among the fans. Of course no one is happy that we’re playing so poorly and winning a flag shouldn’t mean we couldn’t care less any more, but it’s almost like some feel even more venomous & hostile because they finally got to feel like winners and it’s a betrayal to go back to the bad old days.

To be honest I wish our club had this attitude.

We should be filthy to be where we are right now, after breaking all kinds of records to win the 2016 Premiership.

It should be burning in the gut but the messaging over the past 2 years from officials, coaches and players would indicate otherwise. Personally I think this has what has annoyed many supporters. It may be different 'inside the walls', but it certainly hasn't appeared so from the outside.

The sooner we take an approach that it is a betrayal to go back to the bad old days, the better this club will be. We need to demand and expect success, which means handling success when it comes. Hawthorn, Geelong, Sydney etc. have done this whereas we had one drink from the cup and stumbled back down the ladder contently.

[Ozza]

The Bulldogs this Century

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DjkqjuUV4AAJqDi.jpg

Triple M have since corrected this - they had WB and WCE in the wrong spots

[bornadog]

Triple M have since corrected this - they had WB and WCE in the wrong spots

ok, time to delete then

[bulldogtragic]

So we are pretty much the same as Richmond (basket case for most of the period), and only Brisbane (very, very poo considering the three-peat), Carlton (gone poo after cheating, penalties and a universal joke) and Melbourne (voted to merge their club, charged with 'not' tanking, punished, turned over bad senior coaches, were given draft and multi-million dollar bail outs from the AFEL as they're the worst team in the modern era). And us!!

Get me some hard liquor. That's a brutal dose of the facts & truth right there.

[Twodogs]

We've told you before. No hard liquor,

[bulldogtragic]

We've told you before. No hard liquor,

Yes dad, I know, just the reefer. It’s a natural product.

[Twodogs]

Yes dad, I know, just the reefer. It’s a natural product.

Yep, I've told you before to keep out of my liquor cabinet.

[Bulldog4life]

Yes dad, I know, just the reefer. It’s a natural product.

Now there is a thread in itself:)

[Eastdog]

2016 was just fantastic. It was a flag that come from nowhere and it was against all odds as we were underdogs in every single 2016 finals game. That Prelim final win was amazing sitting watching from home - I was in tears finally we made a grand final and then going to the grand final itself was an wonderful experience and winning even more amazing. A lot of us couldn't believe we did it but we did. Went to Whitten Oval the next day and it was absolutely buzzing. Getting the train in from Canterbury there was a good number of excited Dogs fans heading over for the premiership party.

2017 I expected to be up challenging to go and win it again so was surprised in how our season went as I was hoping the flag would have motivated us even more for more success but it wasn't to be.

2018 really has been a tough year with a few good moments but many bad ones. We have unearthed some good kids but they will take time to develop.

[Twodogs]

2016 was just fantastic. It was a flag that come from nowhere and it was against all odds as we were underdogs in every single 2016 finals game. That Prelim final win was amazing sitting watching from home - I was in tears finally we made a grand final and then going to the grand final itself was an wonderful experience and winning even more amazing. A lot of us couldn't believe we did it but we did. Went to Whitten Oval the next day and it was absolutely buzzing. Getting the train in from Canterbury there was a good number of excited Dogs fans heading over for the premiership party.

2017 I expected to be up challenging to go and win it again so was surprised in how our season went as I was hoping the flag would of motivated even more for more success but it wasn't to be.

2018 really has been a tough year with a few good moments but many bad ones. We have unearthed some good kids but they will take time to develop.

2018 has been a character building year. We get a few of those. It explains all of the characters around the club.

[Eastdog]

2018 has been a character building year. We get a few of those. It explains all of the characters around the club.

Yep true character building this year. It is nothing new for us.

[Twodogs]

Yep true character building this year. It is nothing new for us.


It's a way of life.

[Bulldog4life]

No. Not on your life. After following the doggies for all my life the premiership was a wonderful glorious feeling right from my toes to my hair. It was better than my honeymoon....but don't tell Mrs. BFL. By the way I was at the 1961 grand final so I have waited for that feeling for a bloody long time. A couple of crap years won't sour that beautiful sweet nectar I drank that day celebrating our 2016 premiership. I loved it and will continue to. On the other hand I am backing the doggies to deliver another one or two within 5 years.

[Eastdog]

No. Not on your life. After following the doggies for all my life the premiership was a wonderful glorious feeling right from my toes to my hair. It was better than my honeymoon....but don't tell Mrs. BFL. By the way I was at the 1961 grand final so I have waited for that feeling for a bloody long time. A couple of crap years won't sour that beautiful sweet nectar I drank that day celebrating our 2016 premiership. I loved it and will continue to. On the other hand I am backing the doggies to deliver another one or two within 5 years.

If we can get another 2 or 3 within 10 years that is really really good.

[Twodogs]

No. Not on your life. After following the doggies for all my life the premiership was a wonderful glorious feeling right from my toes to my hair. It was better than my honeymoon....but don't tell Mrs. BFL. By the way I was at the 1961 grand final so I have waited for that feeling for a bloody long time. A couple of crap years won't sour that beautiful sweet nectar I drank that day celebrating our 2016 premiership. I loved it and will continue to. On the other hand I am backing the doggies to deliver another one or two within 5 years.


I had to tell my kids that the day they were born was no longer the best day in my life. They understood.