EVERY dog has its day.
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This one was reserved for ‘the boys of the Bulldog breed’.
A dream some 62 years in the making became a reality for an AFL battler on Saturday as the Western Bulldogs collected their second premiership amid a swirl of support from those who bleed red, white and blue to those invested in a football fairytale.
The giant-killers of the finals series – they knocked off 2015 grand finalists West Coast and Hawthorn and new kid on the block Greater Western Sydney – claimed another scalp, defeating Sydney 13.11 (89) to 10.7 (67) in front of 99,981 people at the MCG.
The Swans were left to contemplate a second grand final loss in three years as the Luke Beveridge-inspired Pups rose from seventh to add a second premiership cup to sit alongside their lonely 1954 edition.
The heartfelt moment when Beveridge presented injured captain Bob Murphy with his medallion will in time become one of the competition’s most iconic moments.
Two players who started their careers on south-west grounds took centre stage – Easton Wood as stand-in captain and the reinvigorated Liam Picken, who challenged pacy defender Jason Johannisen for the Norm Smith Medal.
Camperdown-raised Wood, who played as a hard-running midfielder in his junior days, joined the revered Charlie Sutton as the only person to lead the Western Bulldogs to the holy grail.
The level-headed skipper was steady, reeling in seven marks and collecting 13 touches playing across half-back.
Picken, a one-time tagger plucked from the VFL via Hamilton, gathered 25 disposals and kicked three goals, including two in the final term, to complete his rebirth as live-wire midfielder.
Second-year coach Beveridge was in awe of his charges’ efforts.
“This group of players are just incredible,’’ he said on the premiership dais.
“Their hearts are so big. We know how long you (the fans) have waited for success.
“We thought at half-time it was going to take something special even though they had given their all already.’’
Beveridge has big plans for the Bulldogs, saying “you want to be envied”.
"There's no doubt everyone envies what Hawthorn has achieved,” he said.
"Everyone envies Sydney's sustained success, and their recent flags. Everyone envies the Cats and their recent record. We've nailed one in a long period of time, and to be envied, you need that sustained success.”