So, about Saturday night!
That was absolutely incredible!
All pre-season we’d felt the support of the Bulldogs fans – from our first open training session in Ballarat to the joint training session with the AFL boys – but Saturday night was on another level.
Arriving at Victoria University Whitten Oval a couple of hours before game time and seeing hundreds, maybe thousands of fans, already lining up had me thinking ‘tonight was going to be extra special’.
It was.
It wasn’t a dream come true. It was beyond that. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would play football in an atmosphere like that.
Running out through the banner - how great was that banner!? - to thousands of fans at VU Whitten Oval will stay with me forever. That noise was like nothing I’d ever experienced before.
After years of playing the game with no one watching, just because we love the game, to have ten thousand screaming fans cheering us on was just surreal.
It made me proud to be a Bulldog and sharing our inaugural AFLW game with the red, white and blue faithful was the perfect tonic to get our season off to a flying start.
I've had a couple of days to process the magnitude of what happened over the weekend; not just for us at the Bulldogs, but the entire first round of AFLW.
I still can’t quite fathom just how big it was in the grand scheme of things. The AFL community has really embraced us, and we sincerely appreciate that.
The game itself was tough and to Fremantle’s credit, they definitely came to play.
With many out there pencilling in Fremantle as the team to beat in the competition, we really wanted to make a statement and show that we mean business.
We felt after a first quarter that was pretty even, we were able to gain some ascendency in the second quarter.
Holding them goalless in that quarter, when they had the wind, was massive and a great effort from our backline who stood tall under pressure.
Allowing Fremantle to score just one behind after half time was the key to the win. We never allowed them to get a run on and play their game, which when it is up and going will be difficult to stop.
Celebrating the goals and great plays from one another was just so much fun. We’ve bonded so well over the pre-season and I think that bond was absolutely on show on Saturday night.
Meeting and interacting with the fans after our very first win was just awesome. Seeing the painted faces, the flags, the guernseys, the red, white & blue all over the place was a sight to behold.
Whilst Saturday night was everything we hoped it would be, and more, we now switch our attention to Adelaide. After a strong win against Greater Western Sydney, they will be up and about and we will need to match that energy from the outset.
We hope to see you there on Friday night at the Kennel!
