AFLW Rivalries – Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs
THROUGHOUT the first five years of the AFL Women’s Competition, we have seen some rivalries develop that are unique to the AFL Women’s competition. In this series, we’re going to highlight some of these rivalries. Today’s series opener is all about the rivalry that started it all.
It is the reason that AFLW now exists – Melbourne and Western Bulldogs.
Back before the AFLW competition existed, there were a series of women’s exhibition matches between teams representing the Melbourne and Western Bulldogs. They were made up of the best players from across the entire country, and were drafted in to the two teams. They would all meet in Victoria, and play a curtain raiser match before the Melbourne and Western Bulldogs AFLM matches.
It began with a single match in June 2013, and by the time 2016 rolled around, it had grown to two matches per season. Melbourne won that inaugural match back in 2013, and it took until the first match of the 2016 series for the Bulldogs to finally get a win.
These were some fiery contests. Although they were exhibition games in name, they were not exhibition games in nature. These were full blown football matches, and those involved were out there to prove why women’s football is so good.
The success of these matches led AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan to bring forward the beginning of the AFLW competition. It was originally meant to start in 2020, but McLachlan brought it forward to 2017.
This fierce rivalry then continued into the AFLW competition. It all came to a head in the final round of the 2018 season out at Whitten Oval.
It was a do-or-die match for both sides. Win, and you were off to face Brisbane in a Grand Final the next week. Lose, and your season is done.
Melbourne had the lead until the dying stages of the match, before Bulldogs forward Brooke Lochland kicked the winning goal with minutes to go. The goal thereby broke the hearts of the Dees players and thousands of Demons fans alike.
History has seen calls from fans right across the league to make a Melbourne vs Bulldogs clash the permanent season opener. They have been making this call for some years, as they see it as the recognition of the deep history between these two sides.
After all, if these two clubs had not made the investment into those exhibition games, who knows if we would have even had the AFLW today. So far the AFL seem to have ignored those calls, but will the wishes of the fans be recognised one day? Only time will tell.
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