Dog of a day in finals still bites
WESTERN Bulldogs midfielder Josh Dunkley says the team was embarrassed by its exit from last year’s finals series and the group has vowed to show the AFL it’s bite in 2020.
The Bulldogs were bundled out of the 2019 finals — the team’s first finals appearance since their drought-breaking 2016 premiership triumph — after a 58-point thumping from Greater Western Sydney in their elimination final at Giants Stadium.
The Dogs had stormed into the finals, winning seven of their last nine games to secure their place in the September action.
Dunkley, one of the Bulldogs star performers in 2019, said the team was left smarting from the loss and have pledged to strike back this season.
“It was a disappointing way to end the year, I think everyone would have seen that from the outside … we were pretty embarrassed after it to be honest,” Dunkley said.
“It was not the way that we wanted to exit, certainly the final series. If we played a game like that during the season we would have been just as disappointed.
“The hunger’s there, we spoke as a group the following week before we exited into the off-season and everyone was really disappointed and hungry as ever.
“Bevo [coach Luke Beveridge] stood up the front and mentioned that we are going to learn from it and going to come back.”
The Bulldogs have added former St Kilda forward Josh Bruce and defender Alex Keath from the Crows to their list.
Dunkley expected the pair to make an impact for the Bulldogs.
“[They are] two great players across the competition that we have sourced out from opposition clubs and I can’t wait to see them line-up for us in 2020.”