Western Bulldogs CEO Ameet Bains says the team will be targeting consistency and stronger performances as they look ahead to the 2025 season.
Speaking as part of the ‘Bulldogs Blitz’ membership day on SEN, Bains reflected on the lessons learned across the course of 2024 and how the team’s own ambition to get better is serving as a driving force for the upcoming season.
“As our club always states, we go into the year with the ambition of being the best we can be,” Bains told Whately on SEN.
“It remains to be seen where we will sit ultimately, given the competition is extremely tight and we saw that again in the weekend’s games.
“Consistency remains our major focus for 2025.”
It was ultimately a tale of two seasons for the Bulldogs in 2024 who were able to shake off challenging early results, winning seven of their last nine games to secure a finals slot.
While the strong finish demonstrated an ability for the team to rise to the challenge, Bains believes lessons learned by the playing group will inform mindsets on the eve of the season and ultimately drive standards throughout the year.
“I think we were really buoyed by the second half of the season last year and we obviously had some incredibly strong performances against sides that ran deep into the finals,” he said.
“We also had games where our performances weren’t up to standard.
“For us it’s that want to play finals, search for improvement and build on what we’ve done in the previous few years.
“The players themselves took a lot out of that period. We played at a couple of venues that haven’t been the happiest of hunting grounds: Geelong in Geelong is a good example and even the win against Sydney in Sydney where we were able to put in some good four-quarter performances.
“Definitely, those performances are drawn on – as are some of the losses and the want to improve on those.
“There’s a confidence to the playing group, to the coaching group and we’re really excited to get the season started this weekend.”
The Dogs will kick off their 2025 campaign this Saturday night against the Kangaroos at Marvel Stadium as the Club celebrates 100 years in the VFL/AFL competition.
For the Club, its members and wider community, the commemoration of the entry into the league is another important chapter in a remarkable history.
“It’s such an exciting year for our football club, celebrating 100 years in the VFL/AFL competition,” Bains said.
“It provides a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect on our great history of our Club.
“It’s a great privilege for our players and our staff to be able to be part of that and to really pay tribute and homage to those who have come before us.”
