More than 500 passionate Bulldog’s faithful attended the Whitten Oval Superstars event on Saturday night at Crown - to celebrate the Whitten Oval and the past greats tied to it.
For over 100 years the Whitten Oval, the spiritual home of the Western Bulldogs Football Club, has been the stage for some of the great players and moments of our game.
Charlie Sutton, Brad Johnson, Chris Grant, Dougie Hawkins and Simon Beasley were just some of the Oval’s legends who joined current players to honour the past while helping to secure the Club’s future - raising funds to go towards the Western Bulldog’s Bulldoze the Debt Campaign.
During the special evening a count-down of the top ten moments of the Whitten Oval took place as voted by fans and supporters in the lead up to the event.
The number one moment chosen by Bulldogs fans and supporters?
The spirited Fight-back Rally of 1989 when 10,000 fans helped stave off the VFL imposed merger with Fitzroy.
This amazing moment in our history followed the emotional last game at the Whitten Oval in 1997 which saw thousands poor into the ground to say farewell; Footscray legend Ted Whitten’s last game coming in at no three; at number four Kelvin Templeton’s 15 goal haul to secure the ground record; Whitten handing over the Club games record to champion Dougie Hawkins rounding out the top five.
Club President, David Smorgon also announced on the night that fans and supporters now have the chance to secure their own seat in the iconic EJ Whitten Stand.
For a limited time only members and fans will be able to purchase a seat of their own choosing and have it commemorated with a bronze plaque for just $495.
To secure your own piece of footy heritage and mark your own connection, memories and friendships made at the ground click here.
All funds raised from this once in a life-time opportunity will support the Western Bulldogs to Bulldoze our Debt.
During the night Bulldog’s CEO Simon Garlick highlighted the critical importance of building a strong financial future for the Club.
“We need to ensure we give ourselves the best possible chance,” Simon Garlick said.
“While history is littered with sides of lesser means beating the odds and achieving the ultimate, it is undeniably becoming more difficult to genuinely consistently compete in today’s game without a relatively equal investment into Football operations.
“It is why debt reduction is so critical for us at this time”.