Eight reasons for Western Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020

Western Bulldogs finished 2019 with a bullet, then added Josh Bruce and Alex Keath in the trade period. Will the club’s new bookends help them become a genuine premiership contender? This is why Dogs supporters should be bullish.

Josh Bruce at Western Bulldogs training. Pic: Michael Klein

The Western Bulldogs’ barnstorming finish to 2019 came to a sudden halt in the elimination final.

But performances in the back end of the home-and-away season gave fans plenty to look forward to — and they aren’t the only reason to think the Dogs are on the way back to the business end of the ladder next season.

Here are eight reasons to get excited about the red, white and blue in 2020.

1. THE ASTRONAUT

The Bulldogs breathed a big sigh of relief when it was revealed forward Aaron Naughton did not suffer an ACL tear to his knee in their elimination final thumping by the GWS Giants. He did suffer some damage to his lateral ligament, but the good news is he is expected to start training with the main group in the new year and he should be right for the start of the 2020 season.

Naughton — who has just turned 20 — booted 32 goals and averaged 5.7 marks from 23 games in 2019, with former Essendon and St Kilda champion Brendon Goddard believing he is “in line to be one of the best key forwards in the game by the end of 2020”. With the likes of Josh Schache, new recruit Josh Bruce, Tory Dickson and Sam Lloyd around him, there’s a lot to look forward to next season.

The sky is the limit for Aaron Naughton. Picture: Michael Klein

2. THE RECRUITS

Bruce has arrived at the kennel, which is his third club in eight years. The former Giant and Saint will fit nicely into a Bulldogs’ forward line already boasting Naughton and Josh Schache. How this three-pronged attack will work in action remains to be seen, but it has Bulldogs supporters licking their lips. Alex Keath, meanwhile, recently had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his lower leg, although the intercept defender has said it should not affect his 2020 campaign. He is set to be back to full training next month, and the smart money suggests he could be one of the recruits of the year.

Josh Bruce gets stuck into pre-season training at his third club. Picture: Michael Klein

3. THE MIDFIELD

The Bulldogs boast the midfield Champion Data has ranked as the second-best in the AFL behind 2019 bolter Brisbane. We all know why. New skipper Marcus Bontempelli, Josh Dunkley and Jack Macrae are all stars. Despite that, they still ranked 12th for total clearances in 2019. Although the return of Tom Liberatore should help in that department, and so will the continued emergence of ruckman Tim English and youngster Bailey Smith.

4. THE RETURNING STARS

The loss of premiership players Tom Liberatore (knee) and Mitch Wallis (foot) hurt the Bulldogs in 2019. The good news is the pair have recently stepped up their training loads after both going under the knife earlier this year. Liberatore was badly missed in the latter stages of 2019. He managed 15 games but had an interrupted season and did not play after Round 20. Wallis did not play after Round 10 due to a stress fracture in his foot, and the Dogs look forward to welcoming both back to their best 22 in 2020.

5. FINISH TO LAST SEASON

They were one of the form sides entering September. In fact, people were already drawing parallels to 2016 when the Bulldogs won the flag from seventh on the ladder. The Dogs got on a serious run in the second half of 2019, winning eight of their last 11 home-and-away matches and knocking off the likes of Geelong, GWS and Essendon in the process. The season, however, ended in the first week of the finals at the hands of a rampant GWS Giants. The young Pups run out of puff, but there was enough there in the second half of the year to excite supporters for the future.

Can new Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli take his game to another level in 2020? Picture: Phil Hillyard

6. SECOND-BEST LIST

They were the bolter of the recently released Champion Data team rankings for 2020. The Bulldogs were ranked 15th going into 2019, but they have risen a staggering 13 places to be second behind premier Richmond going into the new year. Expectations were fairly moderate going into 2019, but heading into 2020 it is a different story. There will be a lot more eyes watching Luke Beveridge’s men in the new year.

7. TIM ENGLISH

English was recently described by Brendon Goddard as “Brodie Grundy 2.0 in the making”. It is a big wrap, but not too many would disagree. There is a lot of buzz surrounding English heading into 2020 and with good reason. Track watchers at the Bulldogs say the emerging star has been dominating pre-season training at the kennel so far this summer. Expect to see English take the next step towards stardom next season.

Tim English is one of the competition’s best young ruckmen. Picture: Phil Hillyard

8. SCORING POWER

The Dogs’ forward half weapons in the second half of 2019 were seriously exciting. They finished the 2019 home-and-away season third overall for scoring with an average of 88.2 per game. In the last five rounds of the season, they ranked No.1. When you add recruit Bruce to the mixture along with the continued development of their talls, you can see why the hype around the Dogs continues to grow.

MORE BULLDOGS NEWS:

Gary Buckenara analyses the Western Bulldogs’ list after the 2019 season

Mitch Wallis says Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli is ‘made for the job’

Mitch Wallis opens up on his latest comeback and hopes to put injuries behind him in 2020

Western Bulldogs young gun Bailey Smith re-signs until end of 2022

CHAMPION DATA SAYS

The Bulldogs list is well balanced heading into 2020, having the second-best list rating as well as the second-best defensive and midfield quality. The Bulldogs have a total of 21 players in the age bracket of 21-25 – the most of any side in the competition.

HOW THE DOGS ARE TRACKING

2015: 6th — 14W, 8L (elimination final)

2016: 7th — 15W, 7L (premier)

2017: 10th — 11W, 11L

2018: 13th — 8W, 14L

2019: 7th — 12W, 10L (elimination final)

TAB ODDS

Premiership: $11

Top 8: $1.60

Top 4: $2.60

Originally published as Eight reasons for Western Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2020