MISSION accomplished. The Western Bulldogs have hosted home games at Mars Stadium since 2017, but none of the club’s previous 11 trips meant anywhere near as much as Sunday’s visit to Ballarat. Luke Beveridge’s men travelled up the national highway and got the job done against Greater Western Sydney to clinch a finals spot on the final day of the 2024 home and away season.
It wasn’t easy, but it never is for the Western Bulldogs. They arrived needing four premiership points to ensure they didn’t have to rely on other results. And they left with another scalp ahead of September, closing out a 14.
14 (98) to 9.7 (61) win. The Bulldogs will feature in the finals for the seventh time in 10 seasons under Beveridge, on a day where the 2016 premiership coach eclipsed iconic figure Ted Whitten’s long-standing coaching record.
Tom Liberatore finds his boot after working away in traffic to put the game beyond doubt Ed Richards sets the tone to start the last in spectacular fashion after being tucked up against the fence Marcus Bontempelli stamps his class on proceedings by gliding through traffic and nailing a beauty at pace The Bulldogs sweat on Marcus Bontempelli after the superstar clashes heads with Tom Green Sam Darcy sharks it from the ruck before turning to his left for the fine finish Jack Buckley bounces to his feet despite a heavy collision with teammate Callan Ward running back with the flight Liam Jones may have a case to answer after this dumping tackle on Aaron.