As part of the Club's celebrations to mark a century since joining the VFL/AFL, an expert panel has been convened to select the 25 Greatest Bulldogs of the past 100 years.
The Greatest Bulldogs are those who have represented the red, white and blue with irrefutable distinction on the field and made the most considerable positive impact on the Club's history.
Players of exceptional ability who have achieved some of the game's greatest accolades, they have also made the Club what it is today, setting standards that will always be aspired to, embodying the Bulldogs' spirit and inspiring fans to dream big and stand proud.
The list of 25 is unranked but a Top 5 has been selected in order and will be revealed at the Club’s Centenary Gala on Monday 21 July, answering the perennial question of who really is the greatest Bulldog of all time.
Tickets to the event at Mission Whitten Oval's Western Grounds are now sold out, but the event will be available to be live-streamed on the Club website and app on Monday night.
All 25 selected players will be immortalised in a Jamie Cooper painting that will be unveiled at the Charles Sutton Medal awards night on 1 October.
Today we reveal the selected players who debuted in the red, white and blue between 1966 and 1985.
***
Gary Dempsey
Years played: 1967-78
Games: 207 (2 finals)
Goals: 105
Best & Fairest: 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977
Best & Fairest runner-up: 1971, 1972, 1978
All Australian: 1972
State games: 17 (at Footscray)
Night Premierships: 1967, 1970
Brownlow Medal: 1975
Brownlow votes: 148.5 (at Footscray)
Captain: 1971-72, 1977-78
Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee: 1996
Bulldogs Team of the Century: Ruck
Former captain and six-time Best and Fairest winner Gary Dempsey has always been described as one of the all-time Bulldog greats, with that honour now formally bestowed upon him.
With a decorated 207-game career in the red, white and blue, Dempsey was a formidable ruck during his star playing days in the 1970s, He still holds the record for most Charles Sutton Medals won consecutively (1973-1977).
Dempsey’s consistency was highlighted by a record 13 finishes in the Brownlow Top 10 – with nine of those occasions happening during his career at the Kennel – and claimed the highest individual honour in 1975. Dempsey also has the third-placed medal in the Club's Best and Fairest awards named in his honour.
***
Doug Hawkins
Years played: 1978–94
Games: 329 (6 finals)
Goals: 216
Best & Fairest: 1985
All Australian: 1984, 1986
State games: 5
Captain: 1990–93
Club leading goalkicker: 1991
Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee: 2004
Bulldogs Team of the Century: Wing / Vice-captain
Among the club’s most loved players, Doug Hawkins made the outer wing at the Western Oval his own – eventually having it named in his honour. Superbly gifted, and skilled on both sides of the body, he was unbeatable one-on-one and rarely wasted a possession. The ‘Hawk’ firmly established his reputation as a wingman of class during the 1980s, earning a place in the Victorian state team in 1982, 1984, 1985 and 1989 and the VFL team of the year in 1984 and 1986.
Winning the club's best and fairest in 1985 and finishing runner-up on three other occasions, Hawkins’ genius was never more evident than during the 1985 finals series but, at his playing peak in 1986, he suffered a serious knee injury. When he returned a year later, it was to a hero’s welcome and he displayed all the nous and skill for which he was renowned.
After the tumultuous events of the 1989 Fightback, he relished the role of captain for four years, playing roles at half-back and up forward where he won the club goalkicking in 1991. He broke Ted Whitten’s longstanding record of 321 games in 1994, and went on to eventually play what was then a club record of 329 games.
In 2002, he was named as vice-captain and wingman in the Bulldogs Team of the Century and was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2004. An inductee to the Footscray-Western Bulldogs Hall of Fame in 2010, Hawkins was elevated to Legend status in 2014, becoming the fourth player to receive the esteemed accolade.
***
Kelvin Templeton
Years Played: 1974–82
Games: 143 (1 final)
Goals: 494
Best & Fairest: 1978, 1980
State Games: 10
Brownlow Medal: 1980
Brownlow Votes: 35.5
Coleman Medal: 1978, 1979
Leading Club Goalkicker: 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980
Captain: 1982
Club Awards: Most Improved 1976, Most Consistent 1980
Bulldogs Team of the Century: Centre Half Forward
With his powerful frame and precision finishing, Kelvin Templeton is one of the most commanding forwards to ever wear the red, white and blue.
Across 143 games from 1974 to 1982, he became a goalkicking force — racking up 494 majors, five consecutive Club-leading goalkicker titles and a 15-goal masterclass against St Kilda in 1978 that still echoes as one of the Bulldogs’ most unforgettable performances.
Templeton’s brilliance peaked in 1980 when he became the first forward to claim the Brownlow Medal, pairing it with his second Best and Fairest and a Coleman Medal, underlining a season of dominance.
He captained Footscray in his final year and was later honoured at centre half-forward in the Club’s Team of the Century. His 2024 induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame was a fitting tribute to a footballer whose blend of strength, smarts and sharp-shooting made him one of the game’s most complete and enduring forwards.
***
Simon Beasley
Years Played: 1982–89
Games: 154 (3 finals)
Goals: 575
Coleman Medal: 1985
State Games: 6
Best & Fairest Top 4 finishes: 4
Pre-season Premiership: 1985
Brownlow Votes: 30
Bulldogs Team of the Century: Full Forward
Simon Beasley carved out a legendary career at the Western Bulldogs, leaving an enduring legacy as one of the club’s greatest goalkickers. Recruited from Swan Districts in 1982, Beasley made an immediate impact, playing 154 games and setting a club record of 575 goals – a mark that remains untouched.
In his debut VFL season, he booted 82 goals to finish runner-up in the Coleman Medal, offering an early glimpse of his sharp football brain, deceptive strength, and lethal accuracy.
His peak came in 1985, when he claimed the Coleman Medal with 95 goals in the home-and-away season. He added seven more in a semi-final against North Melbourne, finishing the year with 105 goals, becoming only the second Bulldog after Kelvin Templeton to kick a century in a season.
Throughout the 1980s, Beasley was a constant force; leading the Club’s goalkicking five times and outscoring every player in the league over the decade. His presence provided Footscray with a reliable attacking spearhead and elevated the team’s forward structure.
Retiring in 1989, Beasley was later named full-forward in the Team of the Century – a fitting honour for a player whose record-breaking feats continue to inspire generations of Bulldogs faithful.
25 Greatest Bulldogs (full list)
1925-45: Norm Ware, Harry Hickey, Arthur Olliver, Charlie Sutton, Allan Hopkins, Alby Morrison
1946-65: John Schultz, EJ Whitten, Wally Donald, Jack Collins
1966-85: Gary Dempsey, Doug Hawkins, Kelvin Templeton, Simon Beasley
1986-99: Scott Wynd, Chris Grant, Scott West, Brad Johnson, Tony Liberatore
2000-25: Bob Murphy, Matthew Boyd, Dale Morris, Tom Liberatore, Marcus Bontempelli, Ellie Blackburn
