Despite a promising start to the 2017 season, which saw the reigning premiers win five of their first seven matches,2018 proved to be an even more difficult year for the club. However, the club broke its membership record in 2006 and continued to sustain these figures before another significant increase in 2010. The VFL reserves team is called the Footscray Football Club.
The Bulldogs missed out on the finals over the next two seasons; in 2001, six players were in In 2006, the Bulldogs continued to play well despite a disastrous run of injuries throughout the year; with five players having to have knee reconstructions, including captain Looking for new markets, the club had played one game every year at the Prior to the 2007 season, the Bulldogs made a splash by trading for Much was expected of the Bulldogs following their 3rd-place finish in 2008. As of the year 2010, Essendon and Carlton have each won 16 Premierships. Following the demise of AFL reserves competition in 2000, the reserves team was dissolved and a After a fifteen-year recess, the club re-established a stand-alone reserves team to compete in the The team's training base and administrative headquarters are located alongside the men's team at the Whitten Oval, and as part of the initial application, it plans to play home games at Whitten Oval, Known as the Victorian Football League from 1897–1989; no grand finals were held in 1897 and 19241877–1924: Origins, VFA years and Championship of Victoria1877–1924: Origins, VFA years and Championship of VictoriaWestern Bulldogs did not participate in the VFA/VFL competition from the year 1925 to the year 2014. They began the 2009 season with a 63-point thrashing of There was media expectation that the Western Bulldogs would again feature in the top four in 2010 after doing so in 2008 and 2009. Premierships won since 2014 are as a reserves-grade team. The Bulldogs eventfully lost by 68 points against the reigning premiers who went on to claim their second consecutive premiership in the grand final that following week. The club's headquarters and training facilities are located in Footscray at Newspapers record Australian rules football being played in the The club entered two years of recess during World War I and returned in 1918. The club was relatively strong in the 1970s, but did not win a final; by decade's end they were back near the bottom. The real-life mascot for the Western Bulldogs is a four-month old In 2014, the Bulldogs accepted an offer from comedian and supporter Danny McGinlay to write the messages that appear on the club's Footscray Bulldogs merchandise is seen to be worn in 1992 film Compared to other Victorian AFL clubs, the Western Bulldogs have had historically low membership numbers. Between 1938 and 1951, Footscray failed to win any finals matches, losing all six of its semi-final appearances. Under the tightly focused management of club president The Bulldogs would again feature in the finals in 1998, after heavily defeating West Coast in the qualifying finals, they met Adelaide again in the losing preliminary final. The club song for the women's team is called "Daughters of the west" Playing only for the Western Bulldogs, name the player who sits 10th on the all time list for most games (364) ever played. "Footscray Football Club Limited" is the name of their parent company according to their ABN which also includes businesses such as hotels and a travel agent. In 1994 and 1995, the Bulldogs again made the finals, only to be eliminated by Melbourne and Geelong, respectively.