AS FAR as seasons go, you can’t do much better than be undefeated.
The 10-0 record boasted by Footscray at the end of the COVID-restriction destroyed 2021 season leaves it the first team to be unbeaten since Port Melbourne’s 21-0 premiership run in 2011 and only the ninth to have an unblemished home-and-away campaign in 139 seasons of the VFA/VFL.
The Bulldogs will go down only as minor premiers, with the vagaries of finals meaning they can’t join the ranks of undefeated premiership teams, given four of the previous eight went on to lose post-season games, three of them going out in straight sets.
(Full list of previous undefeated home and away teams at bottom of page)
That was, however, the only blip for an excellent Footscray team that overcame all the challenges thrown at them, including twice trailing by more than 40 points and another by 27 before storming home.
It means the Bulldogs have won 18 home-and-away games in succession dating back to 2019, leaving coach Stewart Edge feeling disappointed but philosophical.
“There is a fair bit of the disappointment for our VFL contracted players – we’ve got some guys in their early 20s who have basically had two years carved out of their footy career and their ability to push forward and have exposure to recruiters at AFL level,” he said.
“I don’t think there was an alternative (to canceling the season), once Victoria got locked down it was very hard to see a way forward with both us and Geelong on the road, Southport interstate and Hawthorn wanting to exit their AFL players.”
Edge admitted the cancellation of the finals was an added twist of the knife for his team, given how their season ended in 2019 – a straight-sets exit after finishing second at 15-3.
“We kicked 1.10 to half-time (in a 15-point semi-final loss to Port Melbourne) and ended up with 4.17 for the day, so it was incredibly bad kicking,” he said.
“We also had two emergencies sitting in the stands at the GWS final, so that was one that got away and I feel for ‘Gia’ (former coach Daniel Giansiracusa).
“No excuses, just circumstance – we kicked our way out of a finals series and he had worked incredibly hard, as had the players of course, so the prospect of a finals series this year, although with different playing personnel, there were plenty of guys looking forward to it.”
Edge said Footscray achieved its 2021 record despite rarely having a long list of AFL-listed players against opponents who fielded stronger teams than their final ladder position would indicate.
“We were delighted with the way our guys played off the back of a year off, and it is worth noting we played the bulk of the year with 10, 11 or 12 VFL boys in the team, so our performances weren’t based on AFL health,” he said.
“We were delighted with the capacity to play well and pull off some good wins – we played Casey with 12 VFL boys, we played a very strong Carlton at the time with 12 VFL boys.
“Sydney had a great team with only four or five non-AFL players including Patty McCartin, so that was probably our best win for the year – their ladder position and win-loss wouldn’t suggest that, but we had a great win when they had Sam Reid, Logan McDonald, Cal Sinclair, Dylan Stephens, Ryan Clarke.
“It just proved that sometimes you can play teams whose ladder position is not reflective of the talent they have out there, and that’s the great thing about our competition, the ebbs and flows of AFL health mean it is always challenging.
“Carlton had (Tom) de Koning, (Matthew) Kennedy, (Paddy) Dow, (Lachie) O’Brien, (Will) Setterfield, (Tom) Williamson, (Nic) Newman returning from injury, and Ben Crocker was the most influential VFL player we came up against … he got going in the last quarter and we just managed to hold on.
“That was a good day – you don’t remember the games you win by 10 goals, you remember the ones where you have to call on engagement, connection and cohesion … all the great things about our program got tested on several occasions.”
The Bulldogs’ biggest achievement since resuming their VFL program in 2014, apart from the two premierships, has been the 11 AFL draftees they have produced, with Mitch Hannan, Ryan Gardner and Anthony Scott in line to play in Saturday’s AFL Grand Final, plus Darcy Macpherson (Gold Coast) and Ben Long (St Kilda), with Jordan Boyd’s mid-season selection by Carlton the latest one.
Edge believed there was a couple more who could join them.
“Robbie McComb and Lachie Sullivan, who was our young skipper, are great benchmarks, they give us a beacon of how VFL footy can evolve for young players … they are tradies working bloody hard during the day and over two or three years they became really capable and quite dominant VFL players,” he said.
“Bailey van der Heuvel, a young bloke from Ballarat who hasn’t come through the pathway due to his cricketing background, and Ned Nicholls didn’t come through the conventional pathway either, but they both look really capable at the level.
“It is great for them to see Anthony Scott progress from winning a VFL best-and-fairest to playing almost every AFL game for the year.
“The intermediate step is what we’re seeing with Robbie and Lachie, guys who have gone from being fringe to dominant VFL players even before they get an opportunity at a higher level.”
“Jordan Boyd showed some talent earlier on but missed a year of football and worked really hard to get an opportunity – unfortunately he had an injury setback immediately after being drafted, but these guys coming through the VFL program makes them feel like it is attainable.
Aside from the growing list of players drafted from Footscray, Edge has also enjoyed watching the development of those drafted to the Bulldogs, and the professionalism of leaders who have had a taste but aren’t in the AFL team at the moment.
“The successes from our AFL list include Cody Weightman, Riley Garcia, Jordon Sweet made his AFL debut, of course Jamarra Ugle-Hagan – talls take a lot longer to develop but he showed he’s going to be a good player by the time he got into the AFL team.
“Then there’s the resilience of Mitch Wallis and guys who are playing with great integrity and character like Patty Lipinski when they’re out of the AFL team but are still bringing great performances at VFL level.”
A part of that has been the one-club mantra adopted at Whitten Oval, which brings the AFL squad into close view for the VFL players.
“AFL players and particularly assistant coaches prioritise coming to VFL games and all our VFL players feel incredibly supported by our AFL program, in particular the assistant coaches being front and centre at every game unless they are interstate,” Edge said.
“(Luke Beveridge) never misses … we prioritise our (AFL) coaches being at VFL games ahead of scouting to the extent where they talk to players at breaks, and that’s not stepping on the toes of our VFL coaching staff. If our AFL assistants can make a contribution at a break by pulling a player aside and giving a couple of pointers we are all for that.”
10-0 win-loss, 1st
What went right: The Bulldogs did everything right – winning games by big margins, holding off late fightbacks and coming back from big deficits. They had Jordan Boyd drafted by Carlton mid-season, Josh Schache earned an AFL berth with 20 goals in seven games and they also had strong away wins against GWS and Casey.
What went wrong: COVID restrictions. Obviously that is the same for everybody, but the Bulldogs could feel most aggrieved given those restrictions were the only thing that could stop the juggernaut this season.
Best and fairest prediction: Rhylee West starts a narrow favourite from Robbie McComb after some dominant games from both at VFL level. Patrick Lipinski was unstoppable when he played, but only four games should see him come up short. Other podium contenders are Lachie Sullivan, Buku Khamis, Louis Butler, Riley Garcia and Lewis Young.
Best young players: Bailey van de Heuvel looks to be a terrific prospect once he fills out, while Charlie Cormack and Daniel Orgill played more than half the year and father-sons Ewan Macpherson and Josh Kellett got a good taste. From the AFL list, Cody Weightman became an automatic selection, while West just needs opportunity. Garcia, Butler, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Khamis and Dom Bedendo also had fine seasons.
Coach status: Stewart Edge has been at the club since 2014, stepping into the VFL job this year. His role will be discussed post-season, but he is keen to continue. “We haven’t got into that review stage yet, but unless there’s something unforeseen we’d expect to continue on,” he said.
Twitter: @BRhodesVFL
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VFA/VFL UNDEFEATED HOME-AND-AWAY SEASONS
1915 – North Melbourne – 15-0 – undefeated premiers
1918 – North Melbourne – 12-0 – undefeated premiers
1919 – North Melbourne – 18-0 – out in straight sets
1927 – Coburg – 18-0 – won premiership. Drew semi-final, lost replay, won Challenge Grand Final
1945 – Coburg – 20-0 – out in straight sets
1957 – Williamstown – 20-0 – out in straight sets
1972 (Div 2) – Geelong West – 20-0 – undefeated premiers
2011 – Port Melbourne – 21-0 – undefeated premiers
** North Melbourne won 49 matches in a row (including the last four to claim the 1914 flag) before losing the 1919 semi-final. With the 1916-17 seasons cancelled due to WWI, North did not lose a game for five years.
^ Geelong (1878, 1879, 1886), South Melbourne (1885) and Essendon (1893) were all undefeated in the era before finals were played, but all drew matches during the season.
