What a game to return to the senior side for.

Mitch Honeychurch had been averaging 26 disposals and five tackles per contest for Footscray in 2016 but hadn’t been able to crack the 22 until an injury to Toby McLean opened the door, and his number was called.

Honeychurch hadn’t pulled on the Bulldogs hoops since the 2015 elimination final and needless to say, the 21-year-old was happy to be a part of the Dogs’ historic first win at Adelaide Oval.

“I’ve been out of the side for 11 or 12 weeks now," Honeychurch said.

"So it’s good to be back out there, playing in Adelaide and getting the win is fantastic.”

And what a win it was.

With the Bulldogs leading by nine points late in the final term, Port Adelaide’s Aaron Young marked deep in Power territory and reduced the margin to just three points with 17 seconds on the clock.

The final moments were predictably frantic but the siren sounded and the Dogs sealed a famous win.

“We always knew they were going to come.

“They’ve been in pretty good form the last couple of weeks, [but] we fought it out, we crunched in and we held our nerve in the last minute there.”

As for the man dubbed ‘The Badger’, he transitioned his state league form onto the big stage, collecting 22 disposals, including nine contested, five marks, six tackles, and a goal.