The Western Bulldogs are not lacking in top end talent, at least on paper.
Marcus Bontempelli and Ed Richards are two of the competition's premier midfielders, afforded some of the best rucking service in the game by the versatile Tim English.
Aaron Naughton finished the year on a tear, in a timely reminder of his pack-crashing, game-breaking best, and the continued emergence of the likes of James O'Donnell and Michael Sellwood (elimination final concussion notwithstanding) down back has tempered, if nothing else, the criticisms of the the Dogs' back half.
But, as is so often the case with this maligned list, its soft underbelly had more than a part to play in the side's loss in Adelaide, at the Crows' hand, on Saturday night.
12 of the lowest 15 disposal tallies on the night belonged to players in the Dogs' royal blue, red and white. Too many had their colours lowered, and too few positively impacted winning football.
The fringes of the Dogs' list will again be a focus for them in the off-season, that the side's premium, blue-chip superstars may be afforded greater support when the lights shine brightest.
So just what do they have planned in this space?
The Dogs have long been viewed as a frontrunner for the services of another of the competition's elite ball winners in Port Adelaide's Zak Butters, due to their attractive list, and relative closeness to Butters' family, in Darley.
The race for his signature is down to two, if reports are to be believed, with Luke Beveridge and co locked in a race with the ever-present recruiting threat posed by the Geelong football club.
Port Adelaide would need to be satisfied by a trade, with Butters adamant he will aim to do what's best for the club he's leaving - the club he captained for much of the year in Connor Rozee's injury-enforced absence.
The Dogs hold Pick 11 in the upcoming National Draft, and that selection will be merely a starting point at the negotiation table, with Butters likely to yield a bounty of up to three first-round selections.
However, the Dogs have had a strong on-ball brigade for years, and have still failed to progress past an elimination final since their grand final loss at Melbourne's hand in 2021. So, rather clearly, although Butters would make any team in the league better, he's not filling a gaping list hole the way a premium key defender or increased depth in the fringes would.
Sam Power (list boss) and Daniel Duvnjak-Zaknich (head of high performance) must go to work in securing the forward and back lines.
Rory Lobb and James O'Donnell toiled manfully against the Crows, but unfortunately, they've proven that they're not the key defenders to genuinely fuel another flag tilt.
The club have been linked to out-of-favour Crow Jordan Butts and wantaway Sun Charlie Ballard, in aid of this end, and could be forgiven for having at throw at Essendon's stumps, regarding Jordan Ridley's future. Just as they look to shore up that end of the ground, though, Buku Khamis appears likely to trade the royal blue for Carlton's navy blue, this trade period, as he so nearly did last off-season.
Sam Darcy's health is of the gravest concerns to Dogs supporters though, and how could it not be?
The father-son oozes 'unicorn appeal', such is his cleanliness below his knees, agility, skill and ruthless competitiveness for a player of his lumbering size. He's played more than 15 games twice in five seasons, with two injuries to his left knee robbing him of considerable time.
They need to get this genuine game-changer right if they're to be any genuine factor at the very pointy end of the table.
'He is capable of having the same impact on the Western Bulldogs as Wayne Carey did at North Melbourne' 👑
Jonathan Brown had some BIG praise for Dogs gun Sam Darcy 👏 pic.twitter.com/SkCnA7BBhI
— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) April 1, 2025
The blueprint is there for the Dogs. Get your most important magnet healthy, play money ball with your back half, and procure Butters by any means necessary, and 2027 could be magical.
