Your favourite Bulldogs GF win & why?

[enoughsaid]

1938 just ahead of 1942

 

[Reecek89]

2004. We weren’t meant to win that. I remember Chanel 9 making it all about Fitler.
Andrew Ryan made the greatest try saving tackle at the end. Roosters would of scored that

 

[Mr 95%]

1995. Jim Dymock playing mind games with Manly by running out with his head shaven before a ball had been kicked, which was the tradition at the time if you won the Grand Final. The late great Bozo, who was coaching Manly at the time, even said that seeing Dymock’s bald head was an ominous sign for the Sea-Eagles. He was right, as the mighty Dogs went on to win 17-4, and Dymock was awarded the Clive Churchill medal!

 

[steeliz]

Did u ever Get Caned by the old wok?

that short backswing was legendary

Yep. Everytime I forgot pe uniform and wore the school Rugby League jersey instead.

He did not like that.

Had a mate who wore a Parra jersey the week after Parra flogged Newtown. He copped 4 from memory.

 

[albatross]

All were great but 1995 was best for sure. Came from 6th and I still love watching Ken Arthurson looking for a hole to crawl into as he disgustingly announces us as Premiers. Fuck Manly.

 

[Gubanaculum]

1995 for sure. In terry lambs book he said they were struggling to focus so they went to the pub had it out with each other , even punch ups, then went on a run of wins to get in the semi's. It is on fox 430 this arvo worth a look ...

 

[enoughsaid]

Yep. Everytime I forgot pe uniform and wore the school Rugby League jersey instead.

He did not like that.

Had a mate who wore a Parra jersey the week after Parra flogged Newtown. He copped 4 from memory.

I still got a scar 40 years later on my Arm from The wok running over the top of me on the hard asphalt playing touch footy during lunch ..

 

[Nate DAWG]

1988 - the game that I became a doggies supporter for life

 

[steeliz]

I still got a scar 40 years later on my Arm from The wok running over the top of me on the hard asphalt playing touch footy during lunch ..

He used to love that.

On the basketball courts?

 

[stevesonthebay]

What is your favourite Bulldogs GF win & why?

Mine was 1995.

We had a tough year with the SLW & players signing elsewhere for 1996. We also thought it was Terry Lamb's last season.

We finished outside the top 4. Beat the Dragons, Broncos, Raiders & Manly in the finals to win the title. We had to defeat the top 3 teams to win the title. That hasn't been done since, not sure if it had been done before.

View attachment 101464

I gotta say the 1980 GF even though I agree the 1995 GF was a great effort considering we won it from outside the top 4 which like you say was never done at least for that time.

But after 38 years without a comp the 80 GF win was one to cherish. Especially that we had gone close in 1979 and we how the Hughes and Mortimer brothers and the rest of the team who were practically family like Folks and Anderson were geling and playing great entertaining footy.

Geoff Robo was a cult hero with his kamikaze runs and that try to seal the match from Brentnall's kick caught perfectly by Gearin on the line was a try for the ages. The way Ted Glossip who was pretty reserved jumped on his feet and fist pumped the air to say we have won the GF. That was the icing on the cake showing the natural flair the team had developed in the late 70's with a deserved GF win in style.

It also laid the foundation for a Bulldog era as it was the first year the team played as the Bulldogs rather than the Berries and the nucleus of that team went on to dominate the 80's especially the Mortimer brothers and later Lamb.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=370373573647501

 

[dogwhisperer]

1995 - talk about flicking the switch!! To have 4 tries scored against us in 4 games against the best teams of that era was something special. The most mentally tough group of players I’ve ever seen wearing the blue and white. And from 6th spot!!

 

[Chris Harding]

1980.

We'd come close a few times, and had it snatched by an intercept in 1967.
It had been a long, long time since the Berries/Bulldogs had won a GF.
For the long suffering fans, who had seen seasons like the past few, and the lopsided domination of the game by the big sides for decades, it was an amazing win.

Imagine young fans today, having to wait for almost 40 years to see a GF win.

 

[Chris Harding]

I gotta say the 1980 GF even though I agree the 1995 GF was a great effort considering we won it from outside the top 4 which like you say was never done at least for that time.

But after 38 years without a comp the 80 GF win was one to cherish. Especially that we had gone close in 1979 and we how the Hughes and Mortimer brothers and the rest of the team who were practically family like Folks and Anderson were geling and playing great entertaining footy.

Geoff Robo was a cult hero with his kamikaze runs and that try to seal the match from Brentnall's kick caught perfectly by Gearin on the line was a try for the ages. The way Ted Glossip who was pretty reserved jumped on his feet and fist pumped the air to say we have won the GF. That was the icing on the cake showing the natural flair the team had developed in the late 70's with a deserved GF win in style.

It also laid the foundation for a Bulldog era as it was the first year the team played as the Bulldogs rather than the Berries and the neucleious of that team went on to dominate the 80's especially the Mortimer brothers and later Lamb.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=370373573647501

For the younger fans, I guess we can only say -"You had to be there" to understand the importance of that win for fans born after 1942.
I had to wait from 1948 to 1980 to see us win a GF.

How can you explain the elation of finally seeing us take out the big one?

Imagine fans born after 2004 having to wait until 2042 for our next GF win.

 

[Marki]

I picked 2004 in a tight one with '95, but the GF appearance that resonates the most for me is 1998.

In fact, it's not the appearance in the GF (we lost after all). It's the journey to get there.

I was at uni at the time and with about 5 rounds to go before the regular season ended and the Dogs had just come off a loss, we were at 200-1 to win the thing.

Having seen some improvement in that lost game, I remarkably made a comment to my mates that we can still win it. One of them (ex Doggie supporter at the time) thought I was talking shit and to shut me up, offered to make a bet. I then grabbed the paper, looked up the odds next to the league ladder and told him we are 200-1. He gave me those odds. I placed $10 on it. Afew mins later my other mate did the same with him, and another mate from another uni had a $5 bet with him.

We then go on an insane winning streak to scrape into the finals (9th spot from memory) after our final game against the (Luke Patten) Steelers and fortunate to have Sharks lose).

The final series then goes:
Dragons at Kogarah - Martenee!
Norths at NS oval - Talau!
Newcastle at SFS - "Greatest ever comeback" Folksies comment
Eels at SFS - "Greatest ever comeback since last week!" Folksies comment
Broncos GF at SFS - ouch. Damn that Tony Carroll

All us guys that made the bet, paid for the other to come to GF with us. We were bay 26 under the old scoreboard.

I remember watching reserve grade (losing at the time) and thought I'd made a clever comment that "we will only win 1 GF today". The reserve grade boys (including a young Brent Sherwin playing on the wing I think) stage a comeback and scored an 8 point try in the corner. Sherwin steps up to kick both goals (sideline and in front) to hit the lead and ultimately win that GF. I immediately felt bittersweet due to the comment I made earlier in the game.

Then come the main game and at halftime with us leading 12-10, my bet mate was shitting himself (about to lose $5000) so I offered he just buy me a new Bulldogs jersey instead -if we won. The other mates werent as generous.

That second half turned to shit. The big comeback just never came and we lost.

I got told off by the other mates for making that stupid comment on the way back home.

The day didn't end as well as I would have liked but that back end of season and finals series is etched in my mind more than any other.

 

[Cantabrian35]

I picked 2004 in a tight one with '95, but the GF appearance that resonates the most for me is 1998.

In fact, it's not the appearance in the GF (we lost after all). It's the journey to get there.

I was at uni at the time and with about 5 rounds to go before the regular season ended and the Dogs had just come off a loss, we were at 200-1 to win the thing.

Having seen some improvement in that lost game, I remarkably made a comment to my mates that we can still win it. One of them (ex Doggie supporter at the time) thought I was talking shit and to shut me up, offered to make a bet. I then grabbed the paper, looked up the odds next to the league ladder and told him we are 200-1. He gave me those odds. I placed $10 on it. Afew mins later my other mate did the same with him, and another mate from another uni had a $5 bet with him.

We then go on an insane winning streak to scrape into the finals (9th spot from memory) after our final game against the (Luke Patten) Steelers and fortunate to have Sharks lose).

The final series then goes:
Dragons at Kogarah - Martenee!
Norths at NS oval - Talau!
Newcastle at SFS - "Greatest ever comeback" Folksies comment
Eels at SFS - "Greatest ever comeback since last week!" Folksies comment
Broncos GF at SFS - ouch. Damn that Tony Carroll

All us guys that made the bet, paid for the other to come to GF with us. We were bay 26 under the old scoreboard.

I remember watching reserve grade (losing at the time) and thought I'd made a clever comment that "we will only win 1 GF today". The reserve grade boys (including a young Brent Sherwin playing on the wing I think) stage a comeback and scored an 8 point try in the corner. Sherwin steps up to kick both goals (sideline and in front) to hit the lead and ultimately win that GF. I immediately felt bittersweet due to the comment I made earlier in the game.

Then come the main game and at halftime with us leading 12-10, my bet mate was shitting himself (about to lose $5000) so I offered he just buy me a new Bulldogs jersey instead -if we won. The other mates werent as generous.

That second half turned to shit. The big comeback just never came and we lost.

I got told off by the other mates for making that stupid comment on the way back home.

The day didn't end as well as I would have liked but that back end of season and finals series is etched in my mind more than any other.

Great call out, even despite the margin in the Grand Final, there's a huge sense of pride about the efforts of the team in 1998. A very modest bunch if you look at the names in the line-up but they turned up week after after against much more fancied opponents. Getting into the big game after finishing ninth in the regular season is testament to their efforts in the final month of the year. True Bulldogs spirit!

We also won the President's Cup Grand FInal against Parra after trailing 22-0 before half-time. It was the great Simon Gillies' last game for the club and a fitting end to his career.

You're right about Carroll, he was a beast that day, very unlucky to miss out on the Clive Churchill medal.

 

[Harry Oz]

95. Had my all time favorite player Baa. We were massive underdogs and manly had lost 4 games all season & we stuck it to them. It was gold because I fucking hated manly because they bought everything at the time like the roosters & souffs do currently.

Yeah, 95 was personal.
Even though the 80s GFs were better games, more classic.
95 felt better. 80 was a great feeling as well.
I didn't enjoy 04 that much because Thurston had been let go and that was a terrible mistake.

 

[Dogmonster]

Easily 1995 by far, Terry Lamb the legend.
We won convincingly also, which is most satisfying.
Read the team lists both teams Wow.

 

[steeliz]

Sorry I had caps lock & didn't finish my sentence - it's not wog English i was writing.

1980 was the best GF - Steve Gearin's try was the best GF try - it came from nothing & it sealed the win.

They were a special team.

Faith in each other and combinations were unbelievable.

They played a style that no other has ever emulated.

 

[stevesonthebay]

1995 - talk about flicking the switch!! To have 4 tries scored against us in 4 games against the best teams of that era was something special. The most mentally tough group of players I’ve ever seen wearing the blue and white. And from 6th spot!!

The Bulldogs page says it all regarding their run to the GF
Having finished in sixth place at the end of the regular season, the Bulldogs managed a history-making finals surge, winning three sudden death matches to make the Grand Final.

1995 Grand Final v Manly: Bulldogs claim seventh premiership

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs claimed their seventh premiership after downing the Manly Sea Eagles 17-4 in the 1995 decider.

www.bulldogs.com.au

.

This was the team and its interesting that we didn't have the biggest pack in the game so it shows that sheer determination and courage can win comps. It also seems that they only had 3 reserves for the match which is even more incredible. I remember Hetherington was small but a beaast in defence. But Britt and Pay were not the biggest props. But like now they had a great back row and of course Ba Ba.

Our backs were not the most well known but got the job done. Halligan was like El Masri with the boot and Silva was quick. I thought Ryan and Timu were underestimated.

Rod Silva
Jason Williams
John Timu
Mathew Ryan
Daryl Halligan
Terry Lamb
Craig Polla-Mounter
Darren Britt
Jason Hetherington
Dean Pay
Steve Price
Simon Gillies
Jim Dymock

Jason Smith
Glen Hughes
Mitch Newton

 

[Freakzilla]

Thanks to all that shared their stories. Some great reads.