Western Bulldogs senior coach Luke Beveridge is hopeful this Sunday’s match against Gold Coast at Mars Stadium will help the Ballarat community band together.
The Bulldogs have built a strong partnership with the Eureka City since playing their first AFL match there in 2017.
Sunday will mark their 12th clash at Mars Stadium.
“We look at it as a home-ground advantage basically,” Beveridge told media on Friday morning.
“We love the community down there. They’ve really embraced us, and we love the support we get from them.
“When you consider all the challenges and the trauma that’s happened in recent times in Ballarat, and the community and what they’ve had to face – they’ve needed to band together.
“We’re looking forward to going down there tomorrow and preparing well for Sunday’s game.
“Hopefully we can put on a really strong showing and put a bit of spring in their step for everyone in Ballarat who supports us.”
Beveridge said while there won’t be any formal community engagements ahead of the game, the club is always looking for ways to give back.
“It’s difficult to change a normal lead-up and preparation especially for the players – to take them out of their usual timeline and what they’d expect,” he explained.
“There’s nothing too formal (planned) from a player-participation perspective, but you may have gotten wind of the ASICS and Western Bulldogs' commitment to supplying football boots to kids under 14 playing in the local competitions.
“I think that’s just an outstanding initiative for those families to think they won’t have to buy their kids new boots for a start.
“We just need to keep trying to do things to support people not only in our local region, but definitely in those regional centres too.”
The Bulldogs’ team of 23 players will be confirmed tonight at 5pm.
