MAKING a Grand Final takes plenty of planning, execution and a little luck.


But the Bulldogs' list management team has been building towards this weekend for some time.
Recruiters work three or four years in advance, drafting players and targeting others to either reach the top of the ladder or stay there.


Here AFL.com.au has taken a look at the Dogs' 25-player squads (including the preliminary final line-up and three other possible inclusions) to see how they have constructed the Grand Final team.


WESTERN BULLDOGS
(Including possible Grand Final inclusions Matthew Suckling, Lukas Webb and Tom Campbell)


First round picks

Clay Smith (draft pick No.17)
Jake Stringer (No.5)
Jack Macrae (No.6)
Marcus Bontempelli (No.4)


The Bulldogs' recruiting team deserves huge credit for its brave top-10 selections in 2012-13 that have added real star factor to the list. Some clubs wouldn't have touched Stringer given his serious leg injury, but the Bulldogs had seen him up close and believed he would get back to his best. Macrae was a safer choice and has proved an exceptional selection. The boldest pick was Bontempelli at No.4 in 2013. Bontempelli is everything a club would want in a top-five pick, he's tough, courageous, skillful and lifts in the big moments, and has already become one of the competition's most influential players.

 
Second round

Jordan Roughead (No.31)
Tom Liberatore (No.41)
Toby McLean (No.26)
Josh Dunkley (No.25)
Lukas Webb (No.27)


Liberatore's status here is skewed by the fact he was taken under an older version of the father-son bidding system after Mitch Wallis was picked in the same year with the Dogs' first pick. Nevertheless, Liberatore sits in this category and his importance to the club's midfield cannot be overstated. McLean, Dunkley and Webb even being in this conversation highlights why the Bulldogs have been successful. The club, and coach Luke Beveridge, has instilled belief and confidence in the younger players. None are older than 20 but all have made an impact. McLean's rat cunning smarts in attack appealed to the Dogs' recruiters, while they saw more of Dunkley's strengths than his flaws when assessing where he sat in last year's pool.


Third round

Easton Wood (No.43)
Tory Dickson (No.57)
Lachie Hunter (No.49)
Caleb Daniel (No.46)


The Bulldogs' first premiership captain since 1954 might come from the third round of the draft. Wood has elevated himself into the top echelon of defenders in the competition the past few years, and was an All Australian and best and fairest winner in 2015. The real gem in this crop of recruits is Daniel, whom many clubs overlooked and wouldn't have drafted in 2014 due to his height. The runner up in this year's NAB AFL Rising Star award has impressed with his skill level and tenacity despite his shorter stature. Dickson was a clever choice after making his name at VFL level for Essendon's reserves side, while Lachie Hunter was a father-son pick. Rival clubs, in hindsight, took far too long to place a bid on the busy midfielder.   


Fourth round or later/Rookie Draft/Pre-season draft

Zaine Cordy (No.64)
Luke Dahlhaus (No.22, rookie draft)
Jason Johannisen (No.39, rookie draft)
Liam Picken (No.30, rookie draft)
Matthew Boyd (No.23, rookie draft)
Dale Morris (No.19, rookie draft)
Fletcher Roberts (No.11, pre-season draft)
Tom Campbell (No.27, rookie draft)


The Dogs' success with rookies Boyd, Picken and Morris has been well documented but all three have been crucial in the club's quick rebound in the past two years. In more recent times, Dahlhaus was plucked out of the Geelong Falcons system after catching the Dogs' eye. They took a punt on Johannisen because of a breakout trait, his extreme speed, while Campbell was another rookie selected to fill a need as a back-up ruckman. Cordy is another father-son pick for the Dogs where a rival bid has proven to be too late, with the Bulldogs able to secure him with a fourth-round choice.  


Trade/Free agency

Shane Biggs (traded from the Sydney Swans, with pick 39, for pick 37)
Tom Boyd (traded from the Giants for Ryan Griffen and pick 6)
Joel Hamling (delisted free agent)
Matthew Suckling (unrestricted free agent)


This highlights how the Bulldogs have built through crafty drafting rather than targeting players through trades and free agency. Boyd was a coup, but it took a long-term multi-million-dollar deal and the exit of their captain (plus pick six) to make it happen. Suckling was a nice addition without giving up anything as an unrestricted free agent. Biggs and Hamling arrived at the Dogs with far less fanfare but have been solid pick-ups at a basement price: Biggs cost them two spots in the draft and Hamling nothing at all as a delisted free agent from Geelong.