On this day in 2002, the Western Bulldogs marked several milestones with a brilliant come-from-behind win over Geelong at Kardinia Park, a notoriously unhappy hunting ground for the Dogs. 

The Bulldogs travelled down the highway to the Cattery hoping to get a win for Rohan Smith and Scott West, both playing their 200th AFL matches.  But things did not start well.

Ten minutes in Geelong had scored four goals and the Dogs just one point, and even that was just a rushed behind.

Regaining some semblance of composure, the Dogs kicked three of the next four goals to trail by just 11 points at quarter time, but worse was to come.

In a repeat of the first quarter, the Cats burst out of the blocks, again kicking four goals in the first 10 minutes and adding one more for good measure to make it five in a row.

Halfway through the second quarter, the Dogs found themselves 40 points behind.  A year earlier, at the same venue, the Bulldogs had trailed Geelong by 41 points at exactly the same point in the game, and recovered to claim a win for the ages.

Surely lightning would not strike twice.

Incredibly, it did, and it was one of the milestone men, Rohan Smith, who sparked the revival.

Rohan Smith celebrates one of his three second quarter goals against Geelong in his 200th game. Photo: AFL Photos

Smith's first goal at the 15-minute mark kicked off an amazing run of seven consecutive goals for the Bulldogs, with Smith kicking three of them. 

In the comeback 12 months earlier, it had taken until late in the final term for the Dogs to claim the lead, but this time they were incredibly ahead by three points at half time, 10.5 to 10.2.

In the third term, the Bulldogs kept going, at one stage extended their lead to 27 points.  The home side eventually fought back, at one point closing the margin to just eight points, but the Dogs held on to record a fantastic 12-point victory.

While Smith had sparked the turnaround with his three-goal second quarter, his fellow 200-gamer West was outstanding throughout the afternoon, picking up 30 possessions, more than any other player on the ground.

Rohan Smith and Scott West of the Bulldogs lead their team into the rooms after victory in their shared milestone match. Photo: AFL Photos

Brad Johnson was also a star, kicking six goals as well as collecting 25 touches, while Nathan Brown (29 disposals and two goals) was also a key contributor, as was Chris Grant (23 possessions), who did a sterling job at centre half-back.

As well as Smith and West's milestones, the match also marked Terry Wallace's 136th game as coach, making him the Club's third-longest serving coach behind Ted Whitten (228 games) and Charlie Sutton (162 games).

In another milestone, Tony Liberatore qualified for AFL Life Membership in the win.  His 276th premiership game, combined with 22 pre-season matches and two State-Of-Origin appearances, gave him a total of 300, automatically qualifying him.

For the team, this was the fourth consecutive win over the Cats at Kardinia Park, beating the previous record of three, set in the 1940s and equalled in the 1970s.  Terry Wallace's Dogs would return to Kardinia Park in 2003 for another victory, extending the record to five

Rohan Smith, Scott West and Daniel Bandy of the Bulldogs sing the club song after victory over Geelong at Kardinia Park. Photo: AFL Photos.

 

Double Doggies Draws

Two of the Bulldogs' 22 drawn matches have come on May 25.  In 1929 on this day, Footscray fought back from a 35-point quarter-time deficit to draw with Melbourne, 10.15.75 to 11.9.75. 

Forty-five years to the day later, the Dogs travelled to Princes Park and again overcame a slow start to end their match tied with Carlton, both sides scoring 9.12.66.