2015, R09 WESTERN BULLDOGS vs COLLINGWOOD
A couple of unsung Dogs helped the Western Bulldogs to an important win over Collingwood in Round 17 of 2015, Luke Beveridge’s debut season as head coach of the red, white and blue.
At age 27, Tory Dickson was playing a milestone game, but it was not the sort of milestone most others of his vintage would be marking. Dickson was playing AFL game number 50, having achieved his dream the hard way – bouncing back from draft rejection to force his way onto an AFL list through Frankston and Bendigo in the VFL.
One of Dickson’s teammates that day was ruckman Tom Campbell. For Campbell it was AFL game 22, a number most league players might expect to reach while still a teenager, in either their first or second season.
Campbell, however, was by now 23, still struggling to make his mark at footy’s elite level. For him that battle would continue for another decade, but in July 2015 at what is now Marvel Stadium, he and Dickson played important roles in an important win in Bevo’s first year.
The Bulldogs came into the game off the back of a respectable narrow loss to Geelong at their Kardinia Park fortress which followed a four-win streak. In contrast the Magpies were coming of four losses in a row. Based on form line alone, the match shaped as a straightforward win for the Dogs.
However, the results of those games were slightly misleading in terms of how closely matched the teams were. Although the Bulldogs’ run of victories had started with a convincing win against Brisbane, the next three had been lacklustre affairs against bottom-six clubs in which Bevo’s men had struggled to hit the scoreboard.
If the Bulldogs were to go into this match expecting an easy kill, they would do so at their own peril. Fortunately, they did not fall into that trap and, after Scott Pendlebury kicked Collingwood’s first goal in lightning quick time (at the 20-second mark), the Dogs settled to kick the next three – one each to skipper Bob Murphy, Marcus Bontempelli and Dickson.
From there the teams traded goals, with Stewart Crameri kicking his first and the milestone man Dickson adding his second to give his team a 13-point buffer at the first break. Dickson registered his third major in the second term to help the Bulldogs maintain a lead of around two goals at half time, and he booted a fourth in the third term as the Dogs stretched the margin to 26 points at the final change of ends.
Perhaps expecting to coast to victory, the Bulldogs were forced to withstand a last-quarter charge in the final term, as Collingwood kicked all three of the goals recorded before time-on to cut the margin to just 11 points.
Complacency may have played a small part in the Bulldogs’ last-term lapse, but the main issue in those first 20 minutes was an inability to nail a goal. The Dogs added five consecutive behinds in that period, through five separate guilty parties – Jarrad Grant, Matthew Boyd, Jake Stringer, Bailey Dale and Liam Picken.
Still, the Bulldogs held firm during the time-on period, with majors to Mitch Wallis and Dale, making up for his earlier miss, sealing an 18-point win for Bevo’s Bulldogs and keeping them firmly entrenched inside the top eight.
With his four goals, Tory Dickson played a vital role in ensuring his 50th game was a win, while the Bulldogs pair of ‘MBs’ - Matthew Boyd and Marcus Bomtempelli - dominated over the four quarters to earn Brownlow votes – three for Boyd and one for Bont.
While he was not listed in the best players, Campbell’s contribution to the victory should not be ignored. His 28 hit-outs – nine more than the next highest figure in the match – ensured Bontempelli and his midfield mates got plenty of first looks in the centre and around the ground.
Campbell also had 14 disposals and laid five tackles, more than any of his teammates other than Picken (eight) and Jack Macrae (seven).
Dickson would get some deserving recognition just over a year later, kicking 10 goals over four weeks – including three in the 2016 AFL Grand Final – as the Western Bulldogs powered their way to the unlikeliest of premierships.
Campbell did not play in those winning finals, but he was very much an integral part of the Bulldogs squad in that season and in the following two before joining North Melbourne in 2019.
Premiership success may have eluded Tom, but his footy story is one of remarkable endurance. It was not until this month that Campbell’s AFL playing career came to a close, a back injury forcing him to announce his retirement on May 15.
As well as playing with the Kangaroos after leaving Western Oval, Campbell spent two seasons at St Kilda, while 2026 was his second on Melbourne’s senior list. His 15 seasons as an AFL-listed player at four clubs yielded only 58 games, but Campbell has made his mark as a great clubman wherever his travels have taken him.
As one of footy’s ‘Mr Nice Guys’, Campbell remains high on the list of Bulldogs favourites among teammates, staff and fans. And his efforts alongside those of his fellow unsung hero Dickson in the Bulldogs’ important win over Collingwood back in 2015, remind us that he was a footballer of significant talent, too.
Round 17, 2015
Western Bulldogs 15.14.104 d Collingwood 13.10.88
Goals: Dickson 4; Crameri 2; Murphy, Bontempelli, Luke Dahlhaus, Lachie Hunter, Jack Redpath, Stringer, Caleb Daniel, Wallis, Dale
Best: Hunter, Boyd, Shane Biggs, Dickson, Luke Dahlhaus, Bontempelli, Wallis, Picken, Crameri, Murphy
Brownlow Medal votes: Matthew Boyd 3, Steele Sidebottom (Coll) 2, Marcus Bontempelli 1
