With fair weather forecast, it hopefully won’t be raining cats and dogs at Kardinia Park this Thursday, but Geelong and the Western Bulldogs will surely live up to the traditional enmity between their respective mascots, with both sides looking for a seventh win of the season and eyeing a place in the top four.

Since 1997, the year Footscray officially became the Western Bulldogs, the two hoops-wearing clubs have been regular finalists and have engaged in some epic battles, particularly in home-and-away matches. In fact the first time the Club took on Geelong as the Western Bulldogs it was in a top-of-the-table clash at Princes Park in Round 11 of the 1997 season.

The match lived up to its blockbuster billing for three quarters, with the Bulldogs just four points ahead at the last change. But under first-year coach Terry Wallace, the Dogs charged away in the final term to win by 22 points and claim top spot on the ladder.

It was a fine win, but the Bulldogs faced a greater test when the teams next met, in Round 4, 1998. That match was at Kardinia Park, a venue at which the Western Bulldogs had long struggled. Such a struggle, historically, that throughout Bulldog legend Ted Whitten’s 20-season career, he never once tasted victory in Geelong. The closest he came in 14 attempts was a draw in the opening round of 1957.

The Bulldogs’ tribulations at Kardinia Park continued after ‘EJ’ retired in 1970, save for a brief run in the early 1970s when the Dogs returned home from Geelong victorious three times in a row, in 1972, 1973 and 1975.

However when the Dogs headed down the Princes Highway in 1998 for the first time under Wallace, they did so with a generally poor record. In 16 trips to Kardinia Park since that hat-trick of wins in the early ’70s, the Dogs had come away with the four points only twice, in 1985 and 1995.

This time around, though, the Bulldogs made the trip at the top of their game. They had opened 1998 with three strong wins and headed the ladder. Geelong went into the match with a 1-2 record but remained a formidable opponent, particularly at the Cattery. This was reflected when the half-time siren sounded with the sides locked together on 8.6.54 apiece. The Dogs gained a slight ascendency in the third quarter, kicking four goals to two, and then held the Cats at bay in a dour final quarter to record a 15-point win.

That win kicked off a remarkable run for the Bulldogs at Kardinia Park, with their next four visits successful, making it an unprecedented five wins in a row at the Cats’ fortress. Two of those wins involved amazing comebacks from deficits of 40 points or more.

The first came in Round 12, 2001, when the Bulldogs headed down the highway on the back of a stuttering start to the season. Arriving at the Cattery sitting outside of the top eight with a 6-5 record, a loss would see the Dogs slip further from finals contention. When Geelong’s Clint Bizzell kicked a goal to put the Cats 47 points ahead 15 minutes into the second quarter, that fate seemed a foregone conclusion.

Terry Wallace’s men had other ideas, however. Under Wallace the Bulldogs had become renowned for withering bursts, and Bizzell’s goal was the trigger for one of those. In the remaining period before half time, the Dogs added five goals to nil, including a run of four in seven minutes late in the quarter. At the long break the Cats’ lead had been reduced to just 17 points.

Geelong steadied in the third term and were still ahead by 18 when the final quarter began but the Bulldogs were not done with yet. They unleashed another barrage of six unanswered goals to lead by 13 points with under two minutes to go, before a late Cats goal reduced the final margin to seven points.

Scott West was a shining light in the win, collecting 37 disposals and kicking two vital goals, while Nathan Brown also kicked two important second-quarter goals to go with his 26 touches. Brad Johnson’s three goals were vital, too.

Incredibly, lightning struck twice for the Bulldogs at Kardinia Park. Less than a year later, the Dogs returned to Geelong and faced a similar mountainous challenge when the Cats kicked the first five goals of the second term to open up a 40-point lead.

Surely the Bulldogs could not repeat their heroics of the previous year? No one told Terry Wallace’s players that, it seems. The Dogs responded to Geelong’s five goals in a row with six of their own. Amazingly, they had wiped out that 40-point deficit in just 17 minutes and they took a three-point lead into the long break. Six goals to two in the first 21 minutes of the third quarter saw the Bulldogs extend the lead to 27 points and, although the Cats fought back after that, Wallace’s team prevailed in the end by 12 points.

The comeback heroes of 2001 were again prominent: Scott West had 30 possessions, Nathan Brown had 29 disposals and again kicked two goals, and Brad Johnson was outstanding at full forward with six majors. Chris Grant, meanwhile, was a pillar in defence, with 23 touches and 10 rebounds from the Bulldogs’ defensive 50.

When the Bulldogs returned to Kardinia Park in 2003 it was under a new coach – Peter Rhode. The coach may have changed but the result did not. On the back of a commanding performance from ruckman Luke Darcy, the Bulldogs dominated the first three quarters, opening up an unassailable 56-point lead by three-quarter time. The Cats charged home in the last term, but the result was never in doubt, the Dogs coasting to an 18-point win. Alongside Darcy, the best players list included three familiar names – Brad Johnson (four goals), Nathan Brown (three goals) and Scott West (28 disposals).

It would be another 20 years before the Bulldogs triumphed again at Kardinia Park. The Dogs lost 11 matches at the venue during that period, although it could be argued that some losses were a little unlucky. In 2015 the Dogs were within striking distance of the Cats for the entire match, falling short in the end by just eight points.

The following year the Bulldogs were again right in the match before half time but suffered a crucial blow in the second term when Tom Liberatore, who had been dominant to that point, was subbed off with an ankle injury. The Dogs were still within a goal at the beginning of the third quarter when a second injury blow hit, with Liberatore’s fellow midfielder Jack Macrae forced out of the game with a hamstring injury. The Dogs battled on bravely but went down by 25 points in the end.

It appeared the Bulldogs would finally get a Kardinia Park win in June 2021 when a late goal to Toby McLean gave them a one-point lead. However, in a cruel twist, Cats forward Gary Rohan marked seconds before the final siren, and his post-siren kick was accurate, given the home side a five-point win.

The Bulldogs finally broke through for their first win at Kardinia Park under coach Luke Beveridge in the last home-and-away round of 2023, overcoming a slow start to win by 25 points. Skipper Marcus Bontempelli’s 31 touches and 10 tackles earned him three Brownlow Medal votes, while Tom Liberatore (32 possessions and a goal) picked up two and Rory Lobb (three goals) received one. Adam Treloar, who had a team-high 33 disposals and kicked two goals, was extremely unlucky to miss out.

In Round 19 last year, those same four players dominated again as the Bulldogs put the home side to the sword on a wet night at Kardinia Park. This time it was Lobb (21 disposals) who was unlucky to miss out on the votes, but he would not have begrudged Liberatore (23 possessions and seven tackles), Treloar (31 disposals, three goals) and the Bont (27 touches and five tackles) getting the 3, 2 and 1 votes respectively.

With Sam Darcy relishing the wet conditions the Bulldogs led at every change and ran away from the Cats in the final term to win by 30 points.

Injuries will keep Darcy and Treloar from taking the field this Thursday, but Marcus Bontempelli and Tom Liberatore will be doing all they can to make it three wins in a row for the Western Bulldogs down at Kardinia Park.