The key principles underpinning the work of the Western Bulldogs Next Generation Academy are:

  1. To attract more children who would otherwise not play the game of Australian Rules Football or are underrepresented in the AFL talent pathways.
  2. To reflect key multicultural segments in program participants that are currently underrepresented in the game, specifically young footballers of Asian and African backgrounds.
  3. To provide opportunities to better develop and prepare Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players for AFL programs.
  4. Provide talent offerings for 11-15 year-olds to compete with other sports and grass-root programs in conjunction with AFL Goldfields, AFL Western District, AFL Wimmera and the Inner West of Melbourne (WRFL) 
  5. Expand on the above talent offerings for Indigenous and Multicultural participants up to 18 years old.