His connections to the club, now known as Western Bulldogs, run deep more than four decades later.

The Warrnambool father-of-six and grandfather-of-14 said sons Ricky and Kal were Bulldogs through and through.

MORE FOOTY: Kol learned from some of football's legends

Their children are too and will be glued to the TV when they tackle Melbourne in Saturday night's AFL grand final in Perth.

Smedts, 69, played 51 games for the Bulldogs between 1976-79 and 10 for St Kilda in the early 1980s.

He was a Collingwood supporter before he landed at Whitten Oval via Narre Warren.

"You soon change once you go down there and become a part of it and know what it's all about," he said of his football allegiances.

"I am a supporter but to be honest I am not that passionate. I like to see a good game.

"My sons and grandkids are really passionate. They've got the jumpers and the towels and the beanies and scraves."

MORE FOOTY: Long-time fan's heart beats true for the red and the blue

Smedts' son Billie, who followed in his footsteps and played at the elite level, notching 47 games for Geelong and Carlton, "has a soft spot for the Dogs".

He said they played with contrasting styles.

"I played half-back flank and full-back, was just a steady player," Smedts said.

"He's got skill and flair, I was just straight through."

Smedts still works as a gas fitter and plumber and remembers juggling work with training during his playing days.

"I lived the other side of Dandenong in Narre Warren so it took me an hour and a half to get to training every night," he said.

"Everyone had a full-time job. Everyone worked, went to training three nights a week and went to footy on a Saturday.

"Someone said when we were down there 'in years to come it'll be full time' and I went 'oh yeah, righto'. You just couldn't imagine it."

MORE FOOTY: Mann of the moment: Premiership Dee takes walk down memory lane

The camaraderie is Smedts' most endearing memory. He said life off the field was a stark contrast to the modern era.

"You could walk down the street and no one knew who you were but now they're so big and social media is so big," Smedts said.

He was glued to the TV when the Bulldogs broke their 62-year premiership drought in 2016. He believes they're capable of making it two flags in six seasons.

"When they were in the top two they were going good and then all of a sudden they had a bit of a hiccup and now they've come back strong again," Smedts said of the Dogs' form.

"It was too bad they lost (forward Josh) Bruce with 10 seconds to go (in one game) but that is the nature of the beast."

Smedts said "putting the brakes" on Demon duo Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver in the middle and nullifying ruckman Max Gawn were crucial to the Bulldogs' chances.

"Cody Weightman coming back in will be a big plus because he's on fire so it should be a great game," he said.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: