To our loyal and wonderful Bulldogs members,

I hope you’re enjoying some downtime during the off season, but if you’re anything like me, the fixture release has you already counting down the days until Round 1.

As you know, there are plenty of reasons to be excited and proud to be a Bulldogs fan next year.

The Club continues to be strong financially, our redevelopment plans for VU Whitten Oval and the adjoining precinct remain apace, and our Western Bulldogs Community Foundation continues to make significant positive impact in the communities of western Melbourne and Victoria.

On-field, the momentum we generated in the second half of 2019 was tremendous, and it has continued since the games have stopped.

Finishing the AFL season as we did and playing in the finals again was fantastic, and we can take a lot of confidence into 2020 knowing how our young and emerging group is positioned.

We secured our premiership coach Luke Beveridge for a further three seasons, until at least the end of the 2023 season.

Sam Power, Chris Grant and list management and recruiting team did a brilliant job in 2019 by re-signing 19 players, including many of our leaders and young stars.

We were able to add both Josh Bruce and Alex Keath in the Trade Period to fill some key position needs, but also to add some experience and maturity.

And this week we received a strong commercial and football AFL fixture, highlighted by more Friday and Saturday night games, a return to Good Friday football, a Round 1 blockbuster against Collingwood and only one interstate trip after Round 12.

Our AFLW team is gearing up for season four of the elite women’s competition, and there’s plenty to look forward to there too.

We have a new senior coach in Nathan Burke, Bob Murphy is on board in a leadership and culture role, and we completed a fantastic 2019 Draft day which saw Gabby Newton selected with pick one and the Club have four of the first nine selections.

We can attack 2020 with a lot of confidence and remain focused on creating a powerful community of Bulldogs members and fans, inclusive of our long standing and loyal supporters and the many new faces residing in Melbourne’s Mighty West.

We’re going to be bold and ambitious with what we’re seeking to achieve next year. For the first time in the Club’s history, we’re setting our sights on signing 50,000 AFL members.

Thank you for your support towards our future success and already signing on as a 2020 member.

Go Dogs!

Ameet Bains