Bulldogs By the Numbers

[merantau]

Liam Picken 2016.

https://youtu.be/4x9zpF5_UTA

[merantau]

This was a great win. And Liam Picken played a big role in it.

https://youtu.be/bcNmgIoiLhA

[merantau]

Round 2, 2017 v Swans at Etihad. Deep in the last quarter Liam Picken clears a loose ball from deep inside defensive 50 with an outrageous sideways kick to space. I think it was Lachie Hunter who gathered the ball and relayed it upfield where Trav Cloke spilled the mark but recovered the ball and drove it forward to where Liam Picken marked on his chest on the boundary, just inside forward 50! Liam quickly boots the ball into the 10 yard square from where the Bont casually strolls in, plucks the ball out of mid air and kicks a goal in one fluid movement.

That gut running by Liam Picken and the Bont was astonishing.

[KT31]

He's still running around (up forward) for Caroline Springs in div 1. WRFL.

Imagine it won’t be for long, he just returned after appealing a life suspension because of his total weeks suspended was over sixteen weeks threshold.(25% discount for AFL suspensions)
Already had to front the tribunal again.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

The first #41 I can recall is Lyal Anderson who played 24 games between 1957 and 1959. He wore #41 for the first two and switched over to #7 in his last season. Another Bulldog from the famous Braybrook Football Club.

Anderson was highly regarded by Braybrook’s greatest Coach in Jim Middleton and was tremendously skilled with an ability to play a lot more League games. Unfortunately for whatever reasons he disappeared from senior football far to early.

[Twodogs]

I have been unable to find a player who has played more than 24 games in the #41.

Ross Christensen is a notable #41 for us. He didn't play many games but is remembered for one outstanding game in 1982 v Hawthorn when he kicked 5 on Chris Mew. At the time we were on the bottom and Hawthorn were one of the big guns of the comp (I think they were third) and we knocked them over by 15 points. It was Ross's second game and he and Simon Beasley kicked ten between them (5 each)

I am pretty certain that Ross is the father of ex Geelong and Brisbane player Allen Christensen.

[merantau]

Ross Christensen is a notable #41 for us. He didn't play many games but is remembered for one outstanding game in 1982 v Hawthorn when he kicked 5 on Chris Mew. At the time we were on the bottom and Hawthorn were one of the big guns of the comp (I think they were third) and we knocked them over by 15 points. It was Ross's second game and he and Simon Beasley kicked ten between them (5 each)

I am pretty certain that Ross is the father of ex Geelong and Brisbane player Allen Christensen.

Notes from Wikipedia re Ross Christiansen

Recruited locally from West Footscray, Christensen played 10 games for Footscray. His best performance came in just his second league game when he kicked five goals in a win over Hawthorn at Western Oval.[2] During the 1983 season he crossed to Geelong, where he would make two senior appearances. Two other players sharing his surname also played for Geelong in the 1980s, Damien and Marty, but they were not related to Ross.

Christensen continued his career in the Victorian Football Association. He won a club best and fairest award at Werribee in 1984 and another with Coburg in 1986.

[merantau]

Mathew Boyd played 68 games in the #42 before switching to #5.

[merantau]

From '88 to '91 Matthew Hogg played 59 games in the #43. He was a very reliable back pocket/tagger who went to Carlton and ended up playing 173 games in total and was a member of their 1995 Premiership team. A fine career. Why did we let him go?

[merantau]

From '82 to '86 Rod MacPherson played 43 games in the #43 as a hard running forward/utility. He played 7 games for the Brisbane Bears but did his ACL and was forced into early retirement because of complications from the surgery. Went on to coach the Bendigo Pioneers

[merantau]

From '14 to '18 Jack Redpath played 36 games in the #43 and kicked 57 goals. He was a big forward who marked strongly and kicked straight. His career was ruined by persistent knee problems. He was a very solid performer who just couldn't get a run at it.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

From '82 to '86 Rod MacPherson played 43 games in the #43 as a hard running forward/utility. He played 7 games for the Brisbane Bears but did his ACL and was forced into early retirement because of complications from the surgery. Went on to coach the Bendigo Pioneers

I met Rod not long after he'd joined the Bears, I was only 14 or so and playing at a school footy game in Rockhampton. The Bears must've been up there on a promo visit and were sitting nearby us. So I went over and spoke to Rod, who I recognised. I mentioned to Rod I was sorry to see him leave and wished' he'd stayed at Footscray and he said 'yeah me too'.
They'd watched our game and presented a signed footy to our team after our game.

[merantau]

Brett Goodes debuted in 2013 in the #44 and played 22 games in 3 seasons. He was a journeyman footballer who travelled a long road in order to play AFL. In 2014 he played in our VFL Premiership Team and won the Norm Goss Medal for best afield in the Grand Final.

Notes from Wikipedia.

"He played for North Ballarat in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and NT Thunder in the Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) before accepting a job with the Western Bulldogs as a player development manager. Whilst at the club, he played in the Bulldogs VFL reserves squad, Williamstown. At the end of the 2012 season, he was invited to train with the Bulldogs senior team, and was selected with the club's first draft pick in the 2013 Rookie Draft.

AFL career

He made his AFL debut for the Bulldogs in the opening round of the 2013 season against Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium. In the Round 2 match against Fremantle, he was amongst the best players afield. After a promising first year, Goodes struggled for form in the 2014 season, playing predominantly in the club's VFL reserves team, where he won the Best and Fairest.

Goodes was delisted at the conclusion of the 2014 AFL season, but was re-drafted by the Bulldogs in the 2014 rookie draft, and was elevated to the senior list prior to the club's 2015 opening round clash against West Coast.

He was delisted at the conclusion of the 2015 AFL season."

[merantau]

Richard Osborne played 3 seasons for us in the #44. He was a gun forward over a long career with 4 clubs.

Here is his record:

Years Club Games (Goals)
1982–1992 Fitzroy 187 (411)
1993 Sydney 16 (39)
1994–1996 Footscray 51 (98)
1997–1998 Collingwood 29 (26)
Total 283 (574)

He won our goalkicking in 1995 with 53 goals. He was a top footballer.

[merantau]

Tim English has now played 53 games in the #44. He has been an excellent player and has a lot of upside to his game. I expect him to play out his career with us. Potential 200 plus game player.