With the arrival of boom recruit Barry Hall in 2010 - who topped the AFL goalkicking with 80 goals - the Bulldogs won the NAB pre-season cup, the first senior premiership of any kind in 40 years. Later in the year the Bulldogs made their third consecutive preliminary final but again, went down to St Kilda. Captain Brad Johnson retired at the end of 2010 after a club record 364 games while Rodney Eade’s coaching tenure was cut short before the end of the 2011 season. At this time, Australia’s first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was the club’s highest profile supporter.
The traditional red, white and blue hooped playing jumper returned under new coach Brendan McCartney in 2012, a year that saw captain, Matthew Boyd, claim his third club best and fairest award. The club mourned the death of club legend and 1954 premiership captain-coach, Charlie Sutton, during the season. After a record 16 seasons at the helm, David Smorgon, handed over the presidential reins to former president and club saviour, Peter Gordon, for season 2013 - a season in which the football world was rocked by investigations into Essendon’s supplements abuse. In 2014, the Bulldogs severed their VFL alignment with Williamstown and fielded their own stand-alone team, Footscray, playing at Whitten Oval. Footscray had instant success, winning the 2014 and 2016 VFL premierships.
A disappointing 2014 season for the senior team precipitated one of the most turbulent off-seasons in club history with the departure of a number of key players including captain, Ryan Griffen, and Brownlow Medallist, Adam Cooney. Critically, the Dogs were able to snare key position young gun Tom Boyd from GWS. Coach Brendan McCartney was also replaced by Luke Beveridge for season 2015 while Robert Murphy assumed the captaincy. Beveridge’s influence was immediate and his side’s attacking flair made the Bulldogs one of the most watchable teams in the competition, making the finals in his second season at the helm.
During the finals series of 2016 the Bulldogs rode an incredible wave of emotion over the space of a month scoring against-the-odds victories over West Coast in an away elimination final; reigning premiers, Hawthorn in the semi-final; and GWS in the preliminary final – a game regarded as one of the most thrilling and pulsating finals ever played. The win catapulted the Bulldogs into its first grand final since 1961. In the Grand Final, the Dogsstarted the game slowly but gradually fought off every challenge Sydney threw at them to eventually run out 22 point winners. The Bulldogs became the first team in history to win the flag from seventh position - breaking a 62-year premiership drought in the process.
The raw emotion of the Bulldogs’ faithful at siren’s end was palpable and the tears flowed freely in the aftermath of such a historic win. The result was also a fitting reward for loyal veterans and premiership heroes Easton Wood, Dale Morris, Matthew Boyd and Jordan Roughead. Back-pocket dynamo, Jason Johannisen, was named the Norm Smith medallist for best on ground. Liam Picken proved the best Bulldogs’ player of the finals series while every player contributed to the hard-fought victory. In one of many iconic moments, Dale Morris’ desperate take-down tackle on Sydney superstar ‘Buddy’ Franklin late in the game resulted in Tom Boyd’s match-winning 60 metre goal that sealed a fairytale victory. The team was led by Wood in the absence of captain, Bob Murphy, who had been sidelined for most of the season due to a knee injury. Coach Luke Beveridge’s sporting gesture in handing over his premiership medallion to Murphy on the presentation dais exemplified the spirit of the victory. Over 30,000 Bulldog supporters gathered the next day at Whitten Oval to honour and celebrate the incredible achievement of the team. Young star Marcus Bontempelli capped a sensational year by winning the best and fairest and by decade’s end he had won three -winning again in 2017 and 2019.
The Dogs were unable to defend their title of premiers in 2017, gradually slipping back down the ladder in the following seasons before a disappointing elimination final loss to arch rival Greater Western Sydney in 2019 ended the decade. Favourite son, Bob Murphy retired at the end of 2017 after 312 games as did former captain and 292 gamer, Matthew Boyd. Others to have played their last games by the end of the decade were premiership heroes in Clay Smith, Liam Picken, Tom Boyd and Dale Morris. Under a new CEO, Ameet Bains, the Bulldogs were now financially sound and experimented by playing some home games in Ballarat, an extension of the club’s western corridor, while planning was under way for a new redevelopment of the Whitten Oval.
After pioneering women’s football in the new millennium through a series of exhibition matches, the Western Bulldogs became one of the first clubs to field a team in the AFL’s new women’s competition (AFLW) from 2017. Under coach, Paul Groves, premiership success was achieved in 2018 with an array of stars featuring Ellie Blackburn, Monique Conti, Emma Kearney, Lauren Spark and Kirsty Lamb. Conti won best on ground honours in the six point grand final win over Brisbane. Kearney and Blackburn shared the best and fairest and gained All-Australian honours, while Kearney also won the AFLW’s competition medal for best player.
