The Dogs had 1 weird season in 2025.
Despite scoring the most points in the league and the 8th best defense, they still couldn't make finals, going 2-9 against the other top 9 teams.
Unless you're a bottom 6 team playing the top 6 - 8 teams maybe 4 - 5 times a year, then not beating any of them won't allow you to ever make finals and you'll forever be stuck in the middle.
In 2025 they beat 3-borderline finals teams by 11pts or less (Carlton by 8, Sydney by 11, Melbourne by 6) while losing to 6 top 8 t4eams by 15pts or less (Colingwood by 6, Gold Coast by 14, Geelong by 14, Adelaide by 11, Brisbane by 10 and Fremantle by 15).
Going into 2026 it was all about what their defense would look like and can they beat the top teams.
After not bringing anyone in specifically to shore up the backline, it didn't look promising from the outset until we saw them in action.
It's not like they need to drastically do anything defensively as they were OK last year but they needed to find a way to be better against the better teams during transition defense.
So far in 2026 they're averaging only 5pts more than last year and allowing 3 more points against but have a 3-0 record and already having beat probable top 8 teams in Brisbane, GWS and Adelaide with 2 of those being away games.
They won 8 games by 72pts or more last year and with an improved defense I shudder to think what those scores will be in 2026!
I made a quick 5min video detailing what the Bulldogs are doing which is nothing ground-breaking but it works for their playing group rather than the players having to fit the system and requires excellent discipline in spacing.
From a local football point of view, there are many times where you'll be outgunned in 1v1's in your forward 50 and something like this could help you tremendously such is its simplicity.
The main points are:
- Pressure at the Source
- Delay the Opposition
- Crowd the Corridor
- Stay Connected
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