If you could have somehow bottled the spirit of Saturday, 23 August, 1997, the day the Dogs played their final game at the Western/Whitten Oval, and then imagine setting it free almost two decades later, that was the feeling in February 2015 when the senior team returned for a one off pre-season game against the Tigers. 

On this week’s episode of the Freedom in a Cage, co-hosts Bob Murphy and Adi Brown recorded a special edition of the podcast, focusing on the final game at the ground all those  years ago.

Freedom in a Cage | Deep Dive: Last game at Whitten Oval

For Murphy, this brought back fond memories of his own experience playing there, back in 2015. 

“When we ran out (there), I just remember it was quite warm, but at the Geelong Road end, it was the red, white and blue people boozing on, (and) I could not wipe the smile off my face,” he said.

“I remember looking at it and thinking, it's like Footscray Woodstock.  It had that vibe of total abandon.” 

That key, he said, is in the atmosphere.

“The players loved it.  I loved every second of it. Because football by nature is quite tribal and you do feel that at various points but I've never felt it quite like playing here where you thought.. you just don't lose here. 

“There's something in the atmosphere.  We all feel atmosphere and the mood of people at a gathering.”

As captain that day, Murphy had one piece of advice for his troops: soak it in.

“I was encouraging the other boys to make sure you soak this up because this doesn't happen very often so make sure you take it in.