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The Bulldogs fairytale moves to the grandest stage

Bulldogs young gun Marcus Bontempelli celebrates the preliminary final win over GWS as he walks off Spotless Stadium past the AFL premiership cup.

Bulldogs young gun Marcus Bontempelli celebrates the preliminary final win over GWS as he walks off Spotless Stadium past the AFL premiership cup. Photo: AAP

After more than 20,000 days of near misses and heartache the Doggies are again through to Australian football’s biggest stage.

The Western Bulldogs will play in their first Grand Final since 1961 – and just the third of their VFL/AFL existence – when they take on minor premiers the Sydney Swans.

They will not only carry the hopes of the game’s Victorian heartland but those of all neutrals when they take on a Sydney team that is through to its third Grand final in five years.

After the match, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge acknowledged that “we’ve got the biggest game of our lives ahead of us”.

The Bulldogs fairytale was kept alive when they pipped AFL expansion team the Greater Western Sydney by six points in a pulsating preliminary final packed with drama.

The Bulldogs sealed the win when midfielder Tom Liberatore – being watched from the Spotless Stadium stands by his father, Dogs Brownlow Medallist Tony Liberatore – broke clear in the midfield with three minutes to play and coolly kicked the ball into space where Jack Macrae marked and goaled to make the margin six points.

Afterwards Doggies great Brad Johnson, commentating for Fox Footy, admitted: ”I couldn’t watch parts of it.”

The Dogs players savour their win in the rooms after the match.

The Dogs players savour their win in the rooms after the match.

Clay Smith – a 23-year-old who has had to endure three knee reconstructions in his short AFL career – was the unexpected hero for the Bulldogs, booting four goals and ending the match with 26 disposals.

Bulldogs hero Clay Smith boots one of his four goals .

Smith was wearing a black armband, and told the broadcaster after the match: “It’s unbelievable, mate, we were written off probably at the start of the finals series, going over there (to Subiaco to play West Coast).

“We’ve just overcome so much. I lost one of my best mates on Monday during the week, so this game’s for Daisy and I f—ing love him.”

Perhaps determined not to lose their seventh consecutive preliminary final, the Bulldogs were more stoic than slick and had to dig deep for their win.

Both teams were a man down for the entire second half, with GWS co-captain Callan Ward and Bulldogs ruckman Jordan Roughead both suffering heavy hits to the head during the second quarter.

Jordan Roughead came off with an eye injury that will put him in doubt for the Grand Final.

Jordan Roughead came off with an eye injury that will put him in doubt for the Grand Final.

The Giants were more refreshed after a week off but it was Beveridge’s men who handled the dogfight better, much to the delight of many Bulldogs fans among the crowd of 21,790.

Having overcome a series of setbacks in an injury-riddled campaign, the Bulldogs again rallied against the odds.

The Giants boasted a game-high lead of 14 points after booting the first two goals of the final term.

The visitors somehow took control of the see-sawing epic thanks to clutch goals from Dickson, Marcus Bontempelli and Zaine Cordy.

GWS key forward Jon Patton slotted his fourth goal in response as there threatened to be a late twist but Macrae steadied for the Dogs.

Dogs coach Luke Beveridge is looking forward to ''the biggest game of our lives'' next Saturday.

Dogs coach Luke Beveridge is looking forward to ”the biggest game of our lives” next Saturday.

The Bulldogs will return to the grand final for the first time in 55 years, while they will be shooting for only their first premiership since 1954.

The club’s short-term history also tells a tale. The Bulldogs have done it the hard way after finishing seventh on the ladder.

They backed up knock-out final wins over West Coast and Hawthorn, last year’s two grand finalists, with a performance worthy of immense praise.

GWS threatened to bust the game open in the third term, with Patton, Heath Shaw and Rory Lobb all stepping up.

Shaw was one of many players involved in several heated spotfires, while Roughead is in doubt for the grand final.

The ruckman has vision issues after smothering the ball with his face.
Smith, Luke Dahlhaus, Josh Dunkley, Caleb Daniel and Liam Picken were all influential for the Bulldogs, while Shane Mumford dominated the ruck contests with 47 hitouts.

AFL Grand Final

Sydney v Western Bulldogs

at the MCG 2.30pm, Saturday October 1
Head to head: Swans 76 Bulldogs 79 Drawn 1
Head to head in finals: Swans 1 Bulldogs 3
Last time: Round 15 2016 – Bulldogs 13.5 (83) bt Swans 11.13 (79) at SCG
Tab Sportsbet odds: Swans $1.60 Bulldogs $2.40

-with AAP

 

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