UNSW Canberra Oval in Canberra is familiar territory for the Western Bulldogs. 

The Dogs' men's team has made 11 visits to the venue since 2004 and the women's team has also played there twice. 

While the women have split their two games at the ground (a win in 2017 and a loss in 2018), the men's team has a good record there, with seven wins and four losses. 

There have been some dramatic games with close finishes, including three matches decided by under a goal, the most recent a heartbreaking two-point loss to the Giants in 2017, the teams' first meeting after their epic Preliminary Final encounter the year before. 

But for sheer drama and emotion, it's hard to top the very first game the Bulldogs played at the venue, on this day in 2004, when it was simply known as Manuka Oval. 

The match was against North Melbourne in what was a Kangaroos 'home' game, part of a deal North had struck with the AFL in the early 2000s.  The 'Roos were very familiar with Manuka by this stage, having already played 10 matches at the ground, winning seven. 

For the first half of the match, North's experience at the venue showed, as they jumped out to a 35-point lead.  The Bulldogs adapted in the third quarter but were still trailing by 32 points when the teams changed ends for the last time.

The first five minutes of the final quarter gave no indication of the transformation the match was about to undergo.  The only score in that period was a behind the North's Brent Harvey, nudging the Kangaroos' lead out to 33 points. 

But a goal to full forward Jade Rawlings at the six-minute mark changed everything.  Within the next five minutes, Daniel Giansiracusa, Cameron Faulkner and Ben Harrison all added majors and the Bulldogs were suddenly within nine points.

Faulkner was playing his very first AFL match, and his goal came on top of two he had kicked in the first quarter. 

Adam Simpson provided some relief for the Kangas with a goal midway through the term, but Brad Johnson answered almost immediately for the Dogs.  When Bob Murphy kicked his second of the day a couple of minutes later, the margin was suddenly just three points. 

The next 12 minutes were a titanic struggle as each side tried to land a knockout punch.  North had a couple of chances to deliver the blow but both Daniel Wells and Drew Petrie missed shots at goal. 

With a minute to go, the Dogs were still five points behind and the Kangaroos had possession of the ball deep in their defence, when Cameron Faulkner took an excellent contested mark from an attempted pass to North's Troy Makepeace.

Showing the poise of a veteran, the 19-year-old debutant spotted Mitch Hahn — who had been a fine player for the Dogs all day — streaming forward, and hit him on the chest. 

Without breaking stride Hahn launched the ball to the goal where it came off hands and landed in the goal square.  Johnson got there first, but somehow tripped just as he was about to pick up the ball. 

With North defenders closing in on him as he fell to the ground, Johnson managed to get his left foot to the ball just before it crossed the goal line, giving the Dogs a one-point lead, with 30 seconds left on the clock. 

The Bulldogs held on for the final half-minute to record a win for the ages, with Bulldogs fans who had made the trip to Canberra celebrating as wildly as the players. 

While he didn't play a part in the dramatic final seconds, Scott West was a fine player from go to whoa, kicking a first-quarter goal and picking up 36 possessions, more than anyone else on the ground.  He was rewarded with three Brownlow votes while Hahn received two for his efforts.

Faulkner's three goals and his level-headed actions in the final moments were pivotal to the win, as were three goals and 27 hitouts from big Luke Darcy. 

But the hero, of course, was the 'Smiling Assassin' Johnson, who, after a quiet day by his standards, stood up when the Bulldogs needed him most with two final-quarter goals, including the one that made the Dogs' first match at Manuka one that no one who witnessed it will ever forget.