Western Bulldogs winger Oskar Baker says bringing up his 50-game milestone was worth the wait.
The 27-year-old was given a second crack at his AFL career when the Dogs signed him via the pre-season supplementary selection period in 2023.
Following 15 games at the Dees, he has since strung together 35 games in the red, white and blue.
“It feels really good - obviously I’ve been around a while now so it’s taken a while for me to notch it up,” he said in the rooms post-match.
“For myself and my family it probably feels like a bigger milestone than what it actually is, purely because I’ve had to persevere and (show) a lot of resilience.
“It’s nice to notch it up – I’m super grateful to the Club for giving me a second crack and regenerate my career.”
Baker was one of nine individual goalkickers in the Dogs’ 81-point demolition of the Giants, and one of five players to hit the scoreboard on two or more occasions.
While the approach of his second goal – a snap around the body – might have made some fans nervous, he delivered.
“(The footy) wasn’t really coming off that sweet (off a drop punt) in the warm-up, so I thought I’d change it up here,” Baker said.
“Lucky I flushed it because it would’ve been pretty questionable if I’d missed it.
“That’s when you know you’re going well – when you’re sharing the load as a team.
“Naughty competed all day, Darc and Westy were really good – so many others went through there as well and a few blokes hit the scoreboard so that’s really pleasing.”
Overall however, Baker said he was most proud of the team’s ability to back up last week’s efforts.
“Fun is probably a good way to describe it, but probably more proud of the boys,” he said when asked how to sum it up.
“Obviously we had a very good win last week against the reigning premiers up there and we were on a high all week.
“We knew if we played the same footy that we did last week that would hold us in really good stead.
“I’m just really proud of the boys to back it up again today and get a really solid win.”
The Bulldogs will next face Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.
