When the 2016 premiership flag is unfurled at Etihad Stadium on Friday, 31 March, some iconic Bulldogs will be on hand to mark the occasion.

Today’s ICON profile: Seb Hanks

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As president of an AFL football club, Peter Gordon gets a lot of mail from fans. Some of it is supportive and appreciative of the Bulldogs' achievements. Other letters don't quite have the same positive tone.

Gordon takes the time to read them all and absorb the advice offered where possible, aware that the Bulldogs' myriad fans will have many varying opinions about what the Club should be doing on and off the field.

Occasionally, Gordon will receive a letter that makes him take particular notice. One such instance came in October 2014, a difficult month for the Bulldogs that had seen the departure of coach Brendan McCartney and captain Ryan Griffen.

As the Club battled to deal with the upheaval and steer the Bulldogs ship back on to a course of success, Gordon had expected an increase in incoming mail, but it was a letter from a young boy named Seb Hanks that caught his eye, tapping - in Gordon's mind - into the very essence of what it means to be a young Bulldogs fan.

In his letter, Seb wrote:

Dear Peter Gordon. My name is Seb and I am 10 years old. I love the Bulldogs even though everybody makes fun of me because I live in SA [South Australia] and everyone supports Power or Crows.

I am really upset because we have lost Adam Cooney, Ryan Griffen, Liam Jones and our coach. Who is going to coach next year, Peter? What new players are we going to get?

You are my hero. From Seb.

P.S. Please keep Libba.

Peter Gordon, who grew up barracking for the Bulldogs, remembers well the feeling of being the kid in school that supports the unpopular team. He was moved by Seb's deep love and concern for the future of the club of which he was president.

Gordon wrote a letter back to Seb, which said in part:

Dear Seb

Thank you for writing to me.

When I was ten years old, I barracked for the Bulldogs and most of the kids in my class barracked for other teams.  Sometimes they made fun of me too just like you described; not because they all barracked for the Crows but because in that year, the Bulldogs didn’t win many games.

But it did make it all the more special for me when the Bulldogs did have a good win or a good year.  When I was ten, I never thought I would grow up to be the President of the Bulldogs. And if you’d asked me, I probably would have said I would have liked it better to grow up to be full forward than to be the President.

I am very sorry to hear that you were upset about losing Ryan, Adam and Liam.  In footy these days, things can sometimes change pretty fast, and being a Bulldog means you got to be tough and strong even when things aren’t going our way.  We had a bad week but we will come out snarling next year.

We do have a new full-forward.  His name is Tom Boyd.  He’s really big and I hope he will play full-forward for us right up until you are in your twenties.  

Next month, the AFL has a day when lots more new players get chosen.  It’s called the draft.  After that day, I’ll be able to tell you about five more new players we will get.

Soon, we will also announce our new captain and new coach.  I’d love for you and your family to come and meet them on the day we announce the captain.  Can you get your Mum to call and we can make some arrangements for the club to bring you all over for the day.

It was great for us to get your letter Seb.  Everyone at the Club is really thrilled that you support us and are looking forward to meeting you.

True to his word, Gordon did indeed arrange for Seb and his family to come to VU Whitten Oval to meet Bob Murphy and Luke Beveridge, and over the next two seasons, Bob and Luke helped the Dogs forge a path to premiership success, with Seb cheering on from Adelaide.

As Peter Gordon goes about his duties as the president of the Western Bulldogs, Seb Hanks and the letter he sent are never far from his mind. After all, Gordon, too - like the rest of the Bulldogs faithful - was once a starry-eyed 10-year-old fan hoping to one day see his team unfurling a premiership flag.