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An AFL premiership hangover is nothing new, even if it’s rare for the reigning champions to miss finals the next year, but the Western Bulldogs’ opening two rounds of 2018 will have all at the club worried as they head towards unchartered waters.
The last team to miss September after holding the cup aloft was Hawthorn in 2009, but it didn’t take them long to get back into the business end of the AFL season and create one of the great teams of the modern era.
And that model may still give hope to Luke Beveridge and the Bulldogs.
MORE: Bulldogs fans react to premiership hangover | St Kilda fan burns membership after loss to Roos
Hawthorn’s hangover year was the worse of the pair, even though they finished ninth compared to the Dogs’ 10th. Hawthorn had a 9-13 record and a percentage of 92 compared to the Western Bulldogs’ 11-11 and 97%.
The Hawks then bounced back at the beginning of 2010 with a 56-point belting of Melbourne, but it was a temporary restart as they went on to lose the next half dozen, sitting 1-6 and looking like the premiership window had slammed shut in their faces.
However, they prised it open again. From that point on and for the next five and a half years it was go-time for Hawthorn, the beginning of a brown and golden era kick started by a three-point win over Richmond and seven-straight victories as they headed back into the finals.
So there’s hope for the Bulldogs yet, even if it takes a little longer to re-find their form.
They stay at Etihad the next two weeks with tough games against Essendon and Sydney, and if they can snatch a win in either of those it may snap them straight back into action.
Then it’s a run of four very winnable games against Fremantle, Carlton, Gold Coast and Brisbane.
If they keep their heads down and work on what they know they can do, the Bulldogs could be back in the black by mid-May.
But if they’re still in the red by the end of round eight it’s hard to see them turning it around, and pressure on all at the Kennel will ramp up to the max.
The last team to miss September after holding the cup aloft was Hawthorn in 2009, but it didn’t take them long to get back into the business end of the AFL season and create one of the great teams of the modern era.
And that model may still give hope to Luke Beveridge and the Bulldogs.
MORE: Bulldogs fans react to premiership hangover | St Kilda fan burns membership after loss to Roos
Hawthorn’s hangover year was the worse of the pair, even though they finished ninth compared to the Dogs’ 10th. Hawthorn had a 9-13 record and a percentage of 92 compared to the Western Bulldogs’ 11-11 and 97%.
The Hawks then bounced back at the beginning of 2010 with a 56-point belting of Melbourne, but it was a temporary restart as they went on to lose the next half dozen, sitting 1-6 and looking like the premiership window had slammed shut in their faces.
However, they prised it open again. From that point on and for the next five and a half years it was go-time for Hawthorn, the beginning of a brown and golden era kick started by a three-point win over Richmond and seven-straight victories as they headed back into the finals.
So there’s hope for the Bulldogs yet, even if it takes a little longer to re-find their form.
They stay at Etihad the next two weeks with tough games against Essendon and Sydney, and if they can snatch a win in either of those it may snap them straight back into action.
Then it’s a run of four very winnable games against Fremantle, Carlton, Gold Coast and Brisbane.
If they keep their heads down and work on what they know they can do, the Bulldogs could be back in the black by mid-May.
But if they’re still in the red by the end of round eight it’s hard to see them turning it around, and pressure on all at the Kennel will ramp up to the max.
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