Belief will get Dogs victory

THE underdog current is stronger than it has ever been in the sporting world.

It has been a year for the believers.

It started almost 12 months ago with Michelle Payne riding Prince of Penzance to victory in the Melbourne Cup, becoming the first female to do so.

She put a smile on all our faces. It can be done. She proved it.

Then we had the English Premier League’s great upset in Leicester City. Just back from the second-tier competition, the humble team from a working class area of England beat the big boys to become champions.

And now . . . can the Western Bulldogs climb to the top?

It brings back memories of the Geelong victory in 2007.

The locked-on supporters who had sat through grand final losses, preliminary finals losses and seasons without making the finals got to witness victory.

The wonderful images of Bob Davis presenting the cup to Tom Harley and Mark Thompson make this town smile.

Seeing club great Billy Brownless brought to tears after the game showed just what this match meant to him, his club, and his former teammates.

I see many similarities between where Geelong was that year and what is upon the Dogs this week.

I’d love to have the camera on Doug Hawkins, Tony Liberatore and Brad Johnson if the Western Bulldogs win on Saturday. This new breed have broken stigma all year. Too many injuries. So what? Too young. So what? Coach doesn’t have the experience. So what? Travelling to Perth. So what? Travelling to Sydney to play the Giants who just had a week off. So what?

As Marcus Bontempelli said: “Why not us?”

The swell around this club in this state is very strong.

There’s a feeling that romance would be restored in our game.

It’ll change the mindset that your team has to make the top 4 to make the grand final. Well, that notion is not true anymore.

It will give clubs like Melbourne, Richmond and St Kilda another reason to believe they can climb to the top.

There’s a hurdle before the celebrations. There’s another team out there — Sydney. They know what this wave of emotion is like to ride because they did it in 2005. The club’s first premiership in 72 years. The longest drought was broken.

It began a club resurgence that is still going with no sign of stopping.

The Swans are now a desired club, like the Doggies will become.

I reckon I speak for many footy fans — maybe not the Swans fans — but I hope the Bulldogs get the win.

It will be a great day, regardless. Go Doggies!