They say Grand Finals are made of moments.

Those moments eventually turn into memories. Something to reflect on, or to use as inspiration for the now.

For one week only, the Bulldogs – Footscray, not Western – are winding the clock back 70 years to commemorate the ground-breaking 1954 Premiership in Retro Round.

That day was truly special for the community of the west – even though the start of the 1954 season didn’t suggest it would be the historic year it turned out to be.  

Beaten in their first two rounds, the return of Jack Collins from suspension buoyed the Bulldogs in Round 3 – winning what would be their first of a six-game streak. Across Rounds 8-15, the Dogs’ WLWLWLWL record saw them slip from first on the ladder to fourth, snapping the sequence with a draw against North Melbourne in Round 16.

Wins over Essendon and Hawthorn handed Footscray a double chance for the first time in the club’s history, finishing the season in second after 18 rounds.

The Dogs’ triumph over Geelong – a team that had played in the last three Grand Finals and won two premierships in the process – secured their spot in the decider with Melbourne.

The gameplan was simple – use pace and handball to break up play, then go long and direct to spearhead Jack Collins up forward.

The Dogs were never in doubt – leading at every break to eventually salute by 51 points. Collins finished with a bag of seven, while Charlie Sutton booted three.

But it took the Bulldogs 62 years to add another Cup to the collection.

Speaking to Channel 7 prior to the 2016 Grand Final, a host of red, white and blue icons demonstrated just how much it meant.

“Our supporters are the salt of the earth...they’ve stuck through thick and thin. For years and bloody years...they’ve gone through a lot of pain, and suffering.

“They’ve spent their whole life dreaming this day would come. Hoping and praying... that one day we’ll win another flag.”

Those were the words of Luke Darcy, Irene Chatfield, Tony Liberatore, Ted Whitten Jnr, Doug Hawkins, Peter Gordon and David Smorgon, unaware that the Club was about to snap a 62-year drought over the Swans.

But in Round 21 against Melbourne, it’s all about 1954. The Dogs are acknowledging their inaugural VFL flag with a range of activity, from changing the club’s name back to Footscray for a week to a 1954-inspired match-day guernsey and retro merchandise range.

Last week’s official re-opening of Mission Whitten Oval again demonstrated just how far the club has come.

With 14,000 square metres of redeveloped or new facilities, including a new gym, 82-seat theatrette, 50x35m indoor training field, broadcast-quality lights and a revamped grandstand with 920 undercover seats, the redevelopment all but secures the club’s future in Footscray – as it has for the past 130 years, and hopefully 130+ years to come.