Western Bulldogs don’t know when to give up and are now in the Grand Final

FOR this Western Bulldogs clan, the dream may become the most cherished of memories when they play in their first Grand Final since 1961, writes Mark Robinson.

Western Bulldogs players celebrate after their preliminary final win. Picture: Phil Hillyard

WHILE young it’s all dreams; when old, it’s all memories.

It’s an Irish proverb, but what the hell, we’re going to borrow it on a night of unimaginable emotion.

Because for this Western Bulldogs clan, both young and old, the dream may become the most cherished of memories when they play in their first Grand Final since 1961.

The Bulldogs are in the Grand Final.

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We’ll say it again — the Bulldogs are in the bloody Grand Final.

Let’s smile about that. Let’s cheer and clap and hug and cry and truly believe in fairytales.

Who would’ve thought those pesky, scrappy and heart-pumping Bulldogs could not so much dismantle one of the most talented teams ever to play the game, but out-tough and out-run and out hustle the favourites on their home turf.

Football is not about talent, it’s about ticker and cracking in and playing every moment as if that very outcome will decide the game.

Western Bulldogs players celebrate after the preliminary final win. Picture: Phil Hillyard

That’s how the Bulldogs play this game.

And the result was football at its finest, its most magical and its most epic.

They appeared cooked when the Giants kicked the first two goals of the final quarter to open up a game-high 14 points, but none of these Bulldogs players know how to give in.

Time and again through this finals series, starting with West Coast, then Hawthorn and now the Giants, the Bulldogs have never not believed.

Inspiration abounded. Jason Johannisen’s gut running, Libba’s desire in the final couple of minutes, Liam Picken’s smother, Jack Macrae’s sealer and Luke Dahlhaus’s spirit ... heroes were everywhere.

Clay Smith was in tears after the game. A mate died on Monday and he was arguably the most influential player on the ground. He kicked four goals and perhaps his best moment was when he crunched a Giants player in a 50-50 ball late in the third quarter to give the opportunity to Caleb Daniel to kick the goal.

The goal was quintessential Bulldogs. They won the ball at a contest on a wing and worked and worked it forward. Seven players were involved. There was tackle, a tap, a handball, a run, a handball, the crunch, the gather and the goal.

And what of Tom Boyd. The million-dollar kid took over the ruck when Jordan Roughead left the game in the second quarter with a bloody pupil and was immense. He lost his competitiveness someway through the third quarter, almost certainly because he was exhausted, but rallied to be a key player in the final quarter.

Caleb Daniel celebrates his huge third-quarter goal. Picture: Toby Zerna

Just like his teammates, he refused to surrender.

Time and again through this finals series, starting with West Coast, then Hawthorn and now the Giants, the Bulldogs have never not believed.

The final quarter was intense and it was so intense that the 80 minutes before it almost gets lost amid excitement.

The Bulldogs did several things wonderfully well. They didn’t allow the Giants to sweep the ball off half-back. They didn’t allow the Giants to work their renowned spread through the midfield. They won the clearances. Won the inside 50 count. Won the contested possessions.

You little beauty!!!!!! 🐶🐶

— Lachlan Hunter (@lachhunter) September 24, 2016

I'm available next week to talk about the dogs at all pre GF functions #retirementtweets

— Adam Cooney (@Adamcooney17) September 24, 2016

AFL is the best sport in the universe #itsofficial

— Angus Brayshaw (@angusbrayshaw_) September 24, 2016

When they had the ball, they controlled it with short kicking, while continuing to shovel and knock and push the ball forward from congestion. When they didn’t have it, they swarmed over the opposition to win it back.

If there’s a team which keeps the dead ball alive better, especially near the boundary line, we haven’t seen it this year.

It’s not pretty, nor even sexy, but that’s what we’ve come to admire about Luke Beveridge’s boys. It’s probably not right to name players in what every game is a team performance, but Dahlhaus, Smith, Hunter and Liberatore are immense at keeping the ball alive.

The skipper Easton Wood was huge early, taking six marks in the first quarter, and although he was quelled after that, he was important. Yet, when Wood went quiet, others stepped up in defence. Boyd, Morris, Roberts and Hamling had important moments.

Easton Wood takes a big mark in the first quarter. Picture: Michael Klein

Tory Dickson was also critical. He kicked four goals and kept Heath Shaw in check. It wasn’t Shaw’s finest performance. He got beaten one-on-one a couple times and spent a deal of time berating his teammates.

It’s an interesting one. When they win it’s called leadership. When they lose, it’s probably too denigrating of them.

Certainly, the Giants played with attitude. While the Bulldogs played the ball, several Giants thought jumper-punching and pushing opponents in the face, and generally gobbing off, was part of the preliminary final playbook. It didn’t work.

The Giants would be devastated.

They hunted Sydney two weeks ago and were out-hunted on Saturday, specifically in the final 10 minutes.

They say preliminary finals are the hardest games to win, so as extension of that, the final 10 minutes of a preliminary final must be the hardest to play of all.

In that time, one team had an unquenchable thirst for the contest and the other team did not.

It’s why one team is still dreaming and other already is a memory.