Bulldogs By the Numbers

[merantau]

Barry Hall grew up barracking for the Dogs and wore #28 during the two seasons he played with us.

We threw him a lifeline and he grabbed it with both hands - season one yielded 80 goals and the pre-season Cup when we deafeated St.Kilda. Season two delivered 53 goals.

Barry was a much decorated footballer. Captain of the Swans first Flag for 74 years (2005), Swans captain '05-'08, leading goal kicker at StKilda twice, Swans 7 times and for us twice. Four times All-Australian.

Barry did it all. Big, strong, fast he was a headache for defenders and some may still be having therapy despite the passage of time

His record:
Years Club Games (Goals)

1996–2001 St Kilda 88 (144)
2002–2009 Sydney162 (467)
2010–2011Western Bulldogs 39 (135)Total289 (746)

His time with us was his most productive in terms of goals scored per game. He was a terrific player for us. Definitely in the list of best forwards of all time.

Some highlights- seven against North and 7 against the Saints.

https://youtu.be/aygLdtBcGxU

https://youtu.be/5CVYiZ9UGyk

[merantau]

From 1957 to 1963 Bernie Lee played 95 games for us in the #29. He was a very good competitor and played full back in the '61 Finals campaign.

He came through the U/19s and played all his football in defence - either full back or on the back flank.

[merantau]

From '67 to '69, Fred Cook played 33 games in the #29 and booted 2 goals - you could say he began his great goal kicking exploits at the Bulldogs!

These edited notes are taken from Wikipedia. If you weren't around at the time the VFA was big news and Fred Cook was the biggest name in the game. He was a big performer and a big personality on TV. He certainly filled the bill as 'a larger than life character'. It was a tragedy that he departed the Club in my opinion.

"Cook grew up in Yarraville in Melbourne's inner western suburbs, and supported Footscray in the VFL. He played amateur football as a junior for the Footscray Tech Old Boys, then joined the Footscray Football Club in 1967 at age 19. In his second season, 1968, Cook played every game, primarily at centre half-back, and was already developing a reputation as one of the strongest marks in the league.

After the sixth round of the 1969 season, Cook was dropped from Footscray senior side to the reserves, along with six other players, as a disciplinary action for attending a social function which the club had not sanctioned and had discouraged players from attending.

After two weeks in the reserves, Cook was encouraged to cross over to Yarraville in the VFA. The VFA had recently broken its permit agreement with the VFL, meaning that Cook did not require a clearance from Footscray to make the move; and, because the VFA lacked the restrictive player payments laws that the VFL had, Yarraville could offer Cook more money than he was then making at Footscray. In 1970, his first full season with Yarraville, he won the J. J. Liston Trophy for the VFA's best and fairest player playing as its first choice ruckman.Despite his efforts, Yarraville won only one game for the season and was relegated to Division 2, and Cook decided to transfer to Port Melbourne in 1971, where he continued as either a centre half-back or a centre half-forward, depending on the opposition line up.

During a 1972 pre-season practice match against Brunswick, Cook suffered a heart attack between the first and second quarters, but he managed to play the game out and still take 17 marks. He spent the next three weeks in hospital and was advised to retire from football. But, Cook was determined to play again, and made a return later that year. In his first reserves game after the heart attack, he was played at full-forward to keep him out of the heavier action, and he kicked sixteen goals. He made his return to senior football in the last game of the year, less than six months after his heart attack.

Cook was still a utility player at Port Melbourne, playing in the half-backline, ruck and forward-line depending on the needs of the team until 1974 – and in fact, in mid-1974, five years into his VFA career, he was still described as "a makeshift full-forward" by sportswriters of the time. He went on to kick 10.2 from his twelve kicks in that year's Grand Final, and thereafter he was a permanent full forward, and he dominated the Association's goalkicking for the next decade. He topped the VFA's goalkicking five times in a prolific period from 1976–1982.

His highest VFA season tally was in 1982, when he kicked 140 goals.He played in all six of Port Melbourne's premierships and the Centenary Cup victory during the 1974–1982 period, and was a noted performer in Grand Finals, kicking 10 goals in the 1974 Grand Final, 12 goals in the Centenary Cup Grand Final, 9 goals in the 1977 Grand Final, and five goals in the infamous 1976 Grand Final, despite having been king-hit in the second quarter. He represented the VFA in interleague competition on nine occasions, including several times as captain.

He announced his retirement from Port Melbourne at the age of 36, shortly before the end of the 1984 season, having played 253 games and kicked 1210 goals for the club over 14 years; although he had little say in the matter, as club officials indicated that he would no longer be selected in the team due to diminishing returns over his final two seasons. He made a comeback for Division 2 club Moorabbin in 1985, playing eighteen games (and kicking 72 goals) to become the first player to play 300 VFA games, before retiring permanently.

Cook holds the record for most goals kicked in the VFA with 1336, with his record of 300 games being broken by former team mate Bill Swan in 1993.

Cook's success was largely attributed to his marking: he was widely regarded as being one of the strongest and safest marks in the game, even in his early years at Footscray. Through the peak of his career, he was also one of the game's fastest sprinters over a short distance, giving him an advantage as a leading forward. However, somewhat ironically for the VFA's all-time leading goalkicker, he was a poor kick for goal, and many observers commented that he could have kicked many more goals, and perhaps even have become the first man to kick 200 goals in a season, if he'd been a more accurate goalkicker; but, his marking was so dominant and generated so many set shots from close range that it made up for his inaccuracy.

In 2014, the Lorimer St end of North Port Oval was renamed the Cook End in honour of Cook's goalkicking achievements for Port Melbourne."

[jazzadogs]

Billy Gowers wore #26 for 3 seasons - '18 thru '20 and played 33 games all up. He played 20 games in his first year, kicked 26 goals and won our goalkicking.

Thereafter, games and goals were harder to come by. He could definitely play and I liked the way he went about his football. He certainly had a better career than many. AFL is a very tough gig and anyone who pulls on the jumper - even if it's for just one game - has my respect.

I read something the other day (it might have been a graphic in the Herald Sun) that said #26 was our most cursed jumper with lowest average games played, or maybe lowest 'high' number of games played. Anyway, good luck to Dom Bedendo....

[merantau]

From '79 to '86 Neil Cordy played 139 games for us in the #29 mainly as a half back back flanker. He was an excellent mark and kick and he liked to get forward too. He went on to play for yhe Swans and racked up 235 games in total before embarking on a successful media career in Sydney. An excellent player for us. I was sorry to see him leave.

[Twodogs]

From '67 to '69, Fred Cook played 33 games in the #29 and booted 2 goals - you could say he began his great goal kicking exploits at the Bulldogs!

These edited notes are taken from Wikipedia. If you weren't around at the time the VFA was big news and Fred Cook was the biggest name in the game. He was a big performer and a big personality on TV. He certainly filled the bill as 'a larger than life character'. It was a tragedy that he departed the Club in my opinion.

"Cook grew up in Yarraville in Melbourne's inner western suburbs, and supported Footscray in the VFL. He played amateur football as a junior for the Footscray Tech Old Boys, then joined the Footscray Football Club in 1967 at age 19. In his second season, 1968, Cook played every game, primarily at centre half-back, and was already developing a reputation as one of the strongest marks in the league.

After the sixth round of the 1969 season, Cook was dropped from Footscray senior side to the reserves, along with six other players, as a disciplinary action for attending a social function which the club had not sanctioned and had discouraged players from attending.

After two weeks in the reserves, Cook was encouraged to cross over to Yarraville in the VFA. The VFA had recently broken its permit agreement with the VFL, meaning that Cook did not require a clearance from Footscray to make the move; and, because the VFA lacked the restrictive player payments laws that the VFL had, Yarraville could offer Cook more money than he was then making at Footscray. In 1970, his first full season with Yarraville, he won the J. J. Liston Trophy for the VFA's best and fairest player playing as its first choice ruckman.Despite his efforts, Yarraville won only one game for the season and was relegated to Division 2, and Cook decided to transfer to Port Melbourne in 1971, where he continued as either a centre half-back or a centre half-forward, depending on the opposition line up.

During a 1972 pre-season practice match against Brunswick, Cook suffered a heart attack between the first and second quarters, but he managed to play the game out and still take 17 marks. He spent the next three weeks in hospital and was advised to retire from football. But, Cook was determined to play again, and made a return later that year. In his first reserves game after the heart attack, he was played at full-forward to keep him out of the heavier action, and he kicked sixteen goals. He made his return to senior football in the last game of the year, less than six months after his heart attack.

Cook was still a utility player at Port Melbourne, playing in the half-backline, ruck and forward-line depending on the needs of the team until 1974 – and in fact, in mid-1974, five years into his VFA career, he was still described as "a makeshift full-forward" by sportswriters of the time. He went on to kick 10.2 from his twelve kicks in that year's Grand Final, and thereafter he was a permanent full forward, and he dominated the Association's goalkicking for the next decade. He topped the VFA's goalkicking five times in a prolific period from 1976–1982.

His highest VFA season tally was in 1982, when he kicked 140 goals.He played in all six of Port Melbourne's premierships and the Centenary Cup victory during the 1974–1982 period, and was a noted performer in Grand Finals, kicking 10 goals in the 1974 Grand Final, 12 goals in the Centenary Cup Grand Final, 9 goals in the 1977 Grand Final, and five goals in the infamous 1976 Grand Final, despite having been king-hit in the second quarter. He represented the VFA in interleague competition on nine occasions, including several times as captain.

He announced his retirement from Port Melbourne at the age of 36, shortly before the end of the 1984 season, having played 253 games and kicked 1210 goals for the club over 14 years; although he had little say in the matter, as club officials indicated that he would no longer be selected in the team due to diminishing returns over his final two seasons. He made a comeback for Division 2 club Moorabbin in 1985, playing eighteen games (and kicking 72 goals) to become the first player to play 300 VFA games, before retiring permanently.

Cook holds the record for most goals kicked in the VFA with 1336, with his record of 300 games being broken by former team mate Bill Swan in 1993.

Cook's success was largely attributed to his marking: he was widely regarded as being one of the strongest and safest marks in the game, even in his early years at Footscray. Through the peak of his career, he was also one of the game's fastest sprinters over a short distance, giving him an advantage as a leading forward. However, somewhat ironically for the VFA's all-time leading goalkicker, he was a poor kick for goal, and many observers commented that he could have kicked many more goals, and perhaps even have become the first man to kick 200 goals in a season, if he'd been a more accurate goalkicker; but, his marking was so dominant and generated so many set shots from close range that it made up for his inaccuracy.

In 2014, the Lorimer St end of North Port Oval was renamed the Cook End in honour of Cook's goalkicking achievements for Port Melbourne."

There is an excellent book called "Fabulous Fred The Strife and Times of Fred Cook" about Fred by Paul Amy. It's one of the great football biographies and doesn't sugarcoat the less glamorous aspects of Fred Cook's life. I recommend it thoroughly.

[merantau]

There is an excellent book called "Fabulous Fred The Strife and Times of Fred Cook" about Fred by Paul Amy. It's one of the great football biographies and doesn't sugarcoat the less glamorous aspects of Fred Cook's life. I recommend it thoroughly.

Yes, that's a very accurate assessment of the book
It's an excellent read.

[Twodogs]

Yes, that's a very accurate assessment of the book
It's an excellent read.

I read a lot of football books, mostly histories. Time and Space is the best history (it has a whole chapter devoted to the development of handball-how could it not be great?) I've read about footy but Fabulous Fred is the best biography.

[merantau]

Gun forward, Tory Dickson, played 114 games in the #29 and kicked 181 goals 61 behinds making him one of the all time greats for accuracy and probably the most accurate Bulldog of all time.
A mature age recruit he travelled a long and winding road before getting a crack on the big stage. And did he grab it with both hands! What a fabulous player he was during the 2016 campaign. His heroics against GWS in particular will never be forgotten - especially by Heath Shaw, who I suspect, is suffering some form of PTSD after the run around Tory gave him. I just loved him as a player. Total pro. Just went out there and got the job done - no histrionics - using skill, endeavour, a great ability to read the game and to know where the goals are.

These notes are from Wikipedia.

"Before joining the Western Bulldogs, Dickson had been playing for various football clubs around Victoria. In 2009, he won the best and fairest award at Victorian Football League (VFL) club Frankston. After being overlooked for the AFL Draft, Dickson played for Noble Park in the Eastern Football League. In 2011, Dickson signed with the Bendigo Bombers and kicked 48 goals in 19 games.

At the age of 24, Dickson was selected by the Western Bulldogs in the 2011 National Draft, with pick #57. Dickson made his debut in round 1 of the 2012 AFL season against West Coast. He struggled to make an impact, and was dropped the following week.

After spending a month playing for his third VFL club, the Bulldogs' former affiliate Williamstown, Dickson was recalled to the Bulldogs for their round 7 match against North Melbourne.

Dickson is noted for the accuracy of his kicking for goal.[3] He was the most accurate of all AFL players in 2019, and the third-most accurate since 1965.

On September 27, 2020, Dickson announced his retirement from AFL football.

[merantau]

Tory Dickson 2016.

https://youtu.be/zYxAJm7KJts

[merantau]

Check out this terrific tribute to Tory which shows that he was THE most accurate kick for goal EVER

"Put some respect on the name Tory Dickson."

https://youtu.be/jc2MaYDYvxc

[merantau]

Heath Shaw gets pantsed by Tory Dickson.

https://youtu.be/usMMyh5cqpM

[merantau]

Tory Dickson 2005. Beaconsfield FC.

https://youtu.be/usMMyh5cqpM

[merantau]

A Tory Dickson Special against Sydney. Round 4, 2018.
https://youtu.be/SDvnLCgN9Jg

[merantau]

From '49 to '54 defender Angus Abbey played 78 games in the #30. Recruited from FDFL team Warratah, Angus was one of our 1954 Premiership heroes. He will be 96 on November 15 this year.