The Western Bulldogs made a remarkable resurgence in the 2024 rebel VFLW season – going from a three-win season last year to booking a Grand Final appearance.
BY THE NUMBERS
Position: Runner-up
W-L-D %: 12-6 (122.55%)
Players used: 41
Played every match: 5 – Stephanie Asciak, Dom Carbone, Keeley Hardingham, Renee Saulitis, Sarah Skinner
AFLW players used: 9 (18 matches)
Debutants: Maggie Gorham, Jaime Henry, Isadora McLeay, Jasmyn Smith
STAR PERFORMERS
Best and Fairest: 1st: Keeley Hardingham, 2nd: Jaimi Tabb, 3rd: Dom Carbone, 4th: Steph Asciak, 5th: Tamsin Crook
Lambert-Pearce Medal votes: Dom Carbone (17, winner), Keeley Hardingham (10), Ellie Blackburn (8)
Coaches MVP votes: Keeley Hardingham (81, runner-up), Dom Carbone (52), Jaimi Tabb (40)
Rebel VFLW Team of the Year: Dom Carbone, Keeley Hardingham, Jaimi Tabb
Leading Goalkickers: Renee Saulitis (16), Jaimi Tabb (16), Mia-Rae Clifford (12)
STAT LEADERS
(Averages – Minimum 6 matches)
Disposals: Dom Carbone 18.2, Keeley Hardingham 17.5, Sarah Skinner 15.5
Contested possessions: Keeley Hardingham 12.4, Dom Carbone 9.7, Sarah Skinner 7.2
Kicks: Dom Carbone 10.6, Sarah Skinner 10.5, Jaimi Tabb 9.2
Handballs: Keeley Hardingham 8.6, Dom Carbone 7.7, Isadora McLeay 5.4
Marks: Mary Sandral 3.5, Sarah Skinner 3.0, Ash Snow 2.9
Tackles: Jaimi Tabb 6.3, Sarah Skinner 5.3, Keeley Hardingham 5.3
Hitouts: Keeley Hardingham 22.6, Isadora McLeay 6.6, Imogen Milford 6.5
Clearances: Keeley Hardingham 4.4, Dom Carbone 4.3, Sarah Skinner 3.2
Inside-50s: Keeley Hardingham 3.7, Sarah Skinner 2.8, Jaimi Tabb 2.8
Rebound-50s: Ash Snow 2.6, Courtney Ugle 2.4, Tamsin Crook 2.3
What went right: Accolades everywhere from the reborn Bulldogs, who celebrated the return to their marvelous new Whitten Oval facility with a terrific year. Captain Dom Carbone put herself back on the AFLW radar with a fierce attack on ball and opponent to claim a convincing win in the Lambert-Pearce Medal. Meanwhile, Keeley Hardingham emerged as the best ruck in the competition at just 20 years of age, finishing second in the Coaches MVP award and winning the Debbie Lee Medal as the most promising young player. The Bulldogs didn’t need to rely on their AFLW players much either, although the three-game cameo from Ellie Blackburn would have had the young VFL listers walking on water.
What went wrong: It’s hard to really find too much that went wrong, although they would be ruing the poor start in the Grand Final when they conceded four goals to none in the opening quarter. The fact they hauled in the deficit to level the scores at the last break before running out of legs in the fourth quarter will illustrate to them just how close they were to the ultimate prize.
Summary: A remarkable resurgence from the Bulldogs – going from 11th last year after a three-win season to finishing second on the ladder and booking a Grand Final appearance. Their scoring power was on show most weeks, averaging 43.8 points per game, ranked second only to a Box Hill team which had its numbers inflated by having a host of AFLW stars play matches early in the season. The Bulldogs beat every other team in the top six and broke ten head-to-head scoring records and seven margin records in a history-breaking season. Came within a quarter of what would have been a stunning premiership win.
