Western Bulldogs' 2022 review: The Hope, the Hurt and the Clanger

The Western Bulldogs' 2022 season reads as an opportunity gone begging.

Despite sneaking into the finals by some good fortune outside of their control, Luke Beveridge's men had the elimination final by the scruff of the neck against Fremantle.

Leading by a game-high 41 points, the Bulldogs surprisingly gave up the margin and were overrun by the Dockers, booking a ticket home to an extended holiday break.

Although the overarching feeling was that the Dogs didn't truly deserve to be in the finals, their season was truly reflective of that notion.

Following a devastating 74-point Grand Final loss in 2021, the Bulldogs didn't open their account until round three, after losing to Melbourne and Carlton.

Sitting 2-4 after round six, the club had only notched victories against Sydney and North Melbourne and looked to take a massive drop off from near premiership glory, similar to their 2017 season (finishing 10th).

The Dogs seemed to have regained some of their bite which resulted in three impressive wins before taking on the near impossible task of Geelong.

Chris Scott's men flexed their muscles from the get-go, slotting seven goals to one in the first term, before prevailing by 13 points.

Beveridge's men sat 6-6 at the mid-season break and only one game outside the eight.

Bailey Smith hit the tabloids for all the wrong reasons, as he was suspended for two games after his headbutt on Geelong's Zach Tuohy.

However, another punishment was dealt out to the up-and-coming star for his illicit drug use, resulting in an extra two weeks away from football.

Smith was to return at round 18 and proved to be a crucial cog missing in the side.

Returning from the bye, the Bulldogs ironically scored 19.11 in the two games that followed, winning both against the Giants and Hawthorn.

The dates with Brisbane and Sydney away from home proved to difficult, losing by seven and nine goals.

In the Dogs' 2022 fashion, they were able to bounce back leading into crunch time of the home-and-away season, defeating St Kilda and the Demons in a thriller.

At round 19, the club sat in eighth position by percentage but had tasks against the Cats and Dockers, before GWS and the Hawks to finish the year.

All hope seemed lost heading into the final two games as the Dogs were six points outside the eight, needing Richmond or Carlton to lose their remaining matches.

The Tigers booked themselves a spot in the finals by defeating Hawthorn in round 22, while the Blues lost to Melbourne by five points after a last-minute goal from Kysaiah Pickett.

Western Bulldogs had to beat the Giants and did by the same margin.

Heading into the final round of the season, the task was this:

Carlton to lose by 10 or more points, while the Dogs win by 10 or more points to eradicate the percentage difference.

Beveridge's men played first on the fateful Sunday afternoon in Tasmania against the Hawks.

In a see-sawing affair, the Dogs were victorious in the end by 23 points, doing their job but relying on the Pies to defeat the Blues.

Carlton led by four goals at three quarter time as their finals dreams appeared dashed at this point.

However, to the dismay of the Blues, Collingwood stormed back into the contest with five last term goals, winning by one solitary point.

This result put the Dogs into the finals by 0.5 per cent.

Although sneaking into the eight, the season did finish in disappointment as majority of the year had played out to be.

The Hope

Aaron Naughton, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Sam Darcy

The trifecta of Naughton, Ugle-Hagan and Darcy has the potential to take the AFL competition by storm, with neither one of them over the age of 23 yet.

Naughton, at the moment, is the most established one, kicking 98 goals in the past two seasons while academy draft-pick Ugle-Hagan has had his moments.

The latter has played a total of 22 matches, with 17 of those in 2022 including a match-winning performance against the reigning premiers where he kicked five goals and the sealer.

The youngest of the bunch, Darcy, played his first game in round 21 and finished off the season in the senior lineup.

With his enormous stretch and athleticism at 205cm, the 19-year-old is already presenting himself as a worry for opposition, but also has the ability to play at both ends.

The father-son prospect has proven to have the versatility to defend in the backline, a stock that has ran thin for the Dogs in the past two seasons.

Commitment of stars

The Bulldogs have done an excellent job in ensuring their future is relatively strong, signing some of their stars over the past few seasons.

Marcus Bontempelli (2025), Bailey Dale (2026), Caleb Daniel (2026), Tim English (2024), Lachie Hunter (2024), Jack Macrae (2026), Naughton (2024), Smith (2024), Adam Treloar (2025) and Ugle-Hagan (2024) all committed to the club.

This core group of players is what will drive the side to any finals campaigns in the coming years with the hope they can add some talent around this list.

Macrae is also the oldest within that group, 28, and is still playing at a high level of football.

The Hurt

Smith's absence

Smith was suspended for four matches due to two separate incidents.

The first came in round 12 against the Cats, when the blond-mulleted star headbutted Geelong's Tuohy, resulting in a two-match ban.

What followed was a leaked video of Smith shortly after the 2021 Grand Final loss, appearing to be in the presence of illicit substances.

This added to the time away from the team for another fortnight, as Smith was held on the sidelines until round 18.

Smith was quickly becoming one of the more damaging players in Beveridge's side and was receiving attention from opposition players as the running machine was able to break lines and get involved in scores.

His first 9 rounds was nothing short of impressive and offered a glimpse of at what the 21-year-old can turn into with more experience under his belt.

Averaging 29.7 possessions a game, Smith was proven to be the shining light in the Bulldogs outfit despite their disappointing win/loss record.

Although returning to the side, his impact wasn't as nearly as high, including a 21-possession game in the elimination final loss.

The Clanger

Elimination Final loss

In one of the more disappointing games for the losing side, the Dogs had their sights set on a semi final, leading by 41 points against Fremantle in the second term.

Vision was noticed of Zaine Cordy pointing to the scoreboard after a scuffle with Jye Amiss, which would ultimately bite Bulldogs on the rear end.

Kane Cornes recognised the moment as embarrassing.

“I think he’s pointing to the scoreboard there at 42-2 and it’s an embarrassing moment for him and an embarrassing moment for his teammates to go back and review that vision when you choke up that lead," Cornes said.

Conceding 11 of the last 13 goals, the Dockers were able to run rampant over the Dogs in an unlikely comeback to book themselves a spot in the final six.

Beveridge and his men will be frustrated after creating a good position for their side to win but ultimately shooting themselves in the foot.

What do the Bulldogs need?

It is no shock that what the Bulldogs need is key defensive stocks.

Ryan Gardiner, Alex Keath and Cordy all battle on valiantly, but cannot withstand the key forward power of the some of the stars in the competition.

The Bulldogs conceded 1812 Points Against, ranking 11th in the competition, a stat that won't hold up in the finals.

Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay combined for nine goals in round two; Tom Lynch (four in round four); Peter Wright (four in round seven); Jeremy Cameron (six in round 12); Toby Greene (seven in round 14); Mitch Lewis (four in round 15).

The hopeful arrival of Liam Jones should help rectify this problem while also work needs to be done on their defensive structure.

Players linked to the club?

Liam Jones has reported to have nominated a return to AFL football, with the Bulldogs being his desired destination.

Jones was forced out of the game due to vaccination requirements, resulting in the Carlton defender retiring and playing football in Queensland.

Since, the league has dropped mandatory vaccinations, allowing players like Jones to be welcomed back into the competition, with the Dogs set to regain the defender.

Throughout July, reports indicated that Fremantle's Rory Lobb would request a trade away from the Dockers, with a sight to return to Victoria.

In that period, leading journalist Tom Browne believed that Lobb wanted to go to the Dogs in 2023.

However, since then the emergence of Ugle-Hagan and Darcy alongside Naughton has punters begging the Bulldogs to turn away the former Giant.

2022 out-of-contract players

Retirees and Delistings