THEY hail from opposite sides of Australia and boast contrasting playing styles and personalities, but retiring Western Bulldogs duo Lindsay Gilbee and Ryan Hargrave will remain inextricably linked by the many parallels they share.

They were drafted together in 1999 (the joker Gilbee from Coldstream, on Melbourne's north-eastern fringe, and the quieter Hargrave from Perth), lived together in their early twenties, played 200 games together in the Bulldogs' defence, and now they will retire together - deliberately without fuss, in much the same manner in which they played.

In an exclusive interview with westernbulldogs.com.au, they revealed their reasons for hanging up their boots.

Watch highlights of Lindsay Gilbee's 206-game career with the Bulldogs on the media player above.

Gilbee explained he had been ground down by the mental challenge of AFL football.

"It’s not so much physical - my body's really good - it's more trying to give yourself to the cause every day, 100 per cent, which you've got to do in this job," Gilbee said.

"Unlucky" injuries this season had also contributed to his decision, he said.

For Hargrave, it was more about physical issues. He had first started thinking about retirement last year when he was battling injury.

"It wasn't an easy thing to come to, but once I made the decision I was pretty happy. Probably a bit of relief in the end," Hargrave said. "Not the way you want to go out, but you've got to go out sometime."

Gilbee says it "feels like [only] yesterday" that they arrived at Whitten Oval. The subsequent 13 years, according to Hargrave, have disappeared "in the blink of an eye".

Both took the hard road to establishing themselves as AFL players. In their first season (2000), Gilbee broke his collarbone a couple of times while an ill Hargrave underwent a dangerous operation to remove a large cyst from his stomach.

Hargrave speaks for them both when he says the game has taught him not to take anything for granted.

"Nothing comes easy," he adds.

They are proud to be members of the Dogs' remarkable draft class of '99, which produced four 200-gamers (the others being Daniel Giansiracusa and Robert Murphy) and another who played 181 (Mitch Hahn). It's a group that enjoys a special bond. Gilbee and Hargrave say the friendships will last forever.

They are also proud of their long association with each other. Gilbee says most people outside the club wouldn’t realise the amount of pain Hargrave has played with, without a drop in performance. Hargrave says it has been an honour to play with Gilbee, who he lauded as one of the AFL's most skillful players.

Both would like to be remembered as a good teammate and good company.

They say the things they'll miss most will be the camaraderie, their teammates and the support staff around the club. Gilbee says he won't miss the hard training, or the urgings of the Dogs' fitness guru Bill Davoren.

They thanked Bulldogs fans for their support, and urged them to stick with the club through this tough period, insisting they will be well rewarded down the track.

"We are building a great culture… off-field, [the club] is the best it's ever been," Gilbee declares.

They live in hope of their beloved Dogs delivering the drought-breaking premiership that proved so elusive for them.

They came close though, playing in three successive preliminary finals from 2008-10 - a period Hargrave describes as both the highlight and lowlight of his career. More poignantly, Gilbee reveals the lack of a premiership has left "a hole" in his career and his heart that might never be filled.

As for life after the AFL, both will take breaks before pursuing "options" with contacts made through football.

They also plan to play the game at a lower level and relish the prospect of enjoying an icy-cold beer after a game rather than a dreaded ice bath.