A History - No.26

With the new year – and the next Bulldogs century upon us – the team at The Salty Bulldog have been inspired to ring in the new year with something a little different, and given that we begin our next century in the year 2026, a history lesson on the No.26 felt most appropriate.

On face value, the No.26 won’t immediately strike fans as an iconic number in Bulldogs history. However, once we dug a little deeper, it turns out that it has enjoyed a quite storied journey over the past 100 years. From Premiership heroes to Father-Sons, and birthday debuts, the No.26 certainly has a story to tell.

EARLY DAYS

Eerily, the No.26 very nearly holds a unique oddity of starting both centuries being worn by a player with the same name. While second-year player Josh Dolan will don the number in 2026, the number was initially worn by Footscray stalwart Bill Doolan all the way back in 1925. However, while the two players share similar names, they are very different types of players. Dolan has developed an early reputation for being a craft small forward; Doolan, meanwhile, was an old-fashioned back-pocket player for Footscray, having been a dependable rock on the last line of defence for several seasons in a highly successful era for the club.

Prior to Footscray’s admission to the VFL in 1925, Doolan spent four years playing for the club in the VFA and was a member of both its 1923 and 1924 Premiership triumphs, as well as playing in the 1924 State Championship match against Essendon. Doolan also represented the club in its first-ever VFL clash against Fitzroy in 1925, going on to play 16 games that season and 44 games overall at VFL level.

While we’re largely accustomed to the modern-day player wearing one number for most of their career, Footscray’s players in the early years of their VFL existence regularly changed numbers; Doolan for instance wore a different number in each of his four seasons at VFL level, meaning that in the club’s second year, the No.26 changed hands and was worn by Dick Wilkinson, albeit just for two games in one season. Despite his short career at the club, Wilkinson is part of a unique club of 41 Bulldogs to have enjoyed a 100%-win rate at the club, and just one of 12 players to have done so in a career that spanned multiple games.

After a brief recess where the number was unoccupied in 1927, it was quickly adopted the following year by one of the club’s early VFL stars in Ivan McAlpine. Like Doolan, McAlpine wore different numbers in each of his first four seasons for Footscray, but was one of the Bulldogs’ best players across the 1920s and 1930s, winning the club-and-fairest award three times in just 112 games for the club.

It wasn’t until 1931 that the No.26 was worn by the same player for successive seasons. Arriving from Preston as a 28-year-old, Arthur Stevens – like many Bulldogs of the era – wore various numbers during his time at the club, before settling on the No.26 at the start of the 1930 season. By then, he was the club’s established ruckman, having represented Victoria in 1928 and even stepping in as acting captain for the Bulldogs in one game. Stevens played 24 times in the No.26 guernsey and 64 games for the club overall from 1927-32.

Despite his relatively short spell at the club, Stevens’ career would spark a family legacy at the Bulldogs that would last several generations. Arthur’s son Harvey would also go on to captain the club, and play 72 games for the Bulldogs, including starting in the 1954 Premiership team, while great-grandson Michael Talia also played 30 games for the club from 2012-15.

SHARPSHOOTING SUCCESS

As it had done for much of Footscray’s early years in the VFL, the 26 bounced around several players, with no one wearing it for more than one season at a time. But the number struck gold at the end of the 1930s in a manner that coincided with – at the time - the strongest Bulldogs side that had ever been assembled at VFL level.

After an inauspicious first four games in 1937, Charlie Luke made the change from No.28 to No.26 in the off-season, and it brought about instant success. Despite missing six games over the course of the campaign, Luke became the first No.26 to top the club’s goalkicking, finishing the year with 44 majors as Footscray qualified for finals for the first time in club history, making Luke the first Bulldog to lead the club’s goalkicking in a finals year. Luke also played in the club’s first final that year, but despite leading partway through the third term, Footscray were eventually overrun by Collingwood, falling by 41 points. Luke was well held, finishing the game with just one goal to his name.

The No.26 would also top the club’s goalkicking in the following two seasons, but it would be a different Charlie responsible for those feats. While Luke would play just once more for the Bulldogs in 1939 before transferring to Yarraville, a young Charlie Page filled the void. Tasked with the unenviable challenge of leading the line in a Bulldogs team that won just four games for the year, Page acquitted himself well, leading the goalkicking charts for the Bulldogs with 31 goals, but finished the season strongly, kicking 16 goals in the final three games of the home-and-away season.

Page carried his strong end-of-season form into the start of the 1940 campaign, with 19 goals to his name by Round 3, including a career-best haul of nine in the opening game against Richmond. It set the tone for one of the best goalkicking seasons by a Bulldog to that point in time; Page’s return of 52 goals was the second-best return of any Bulldog at VFL level to that point, and it saw him finish seventh overall in the league standings for the season.

Page may well have completed a hat-trick of goalkicking triumphs in 1942, but only played 11 out of a possible 18 games, finishing the year with a return of 27 goals. Despite this, he still managed to finish runner-up in the award, just eight majors shy of eventual winner Alan Collins.

Regrettably, it would be the last time Page would pull on a Bulldogs jumper. War commitments brought about a premature end to Page’s career in league football, closing the book on a career that comprised 113 goals in just 41 appearances. At the time, Page was the Bulldogs’ fourth-best goalscorer in Bulldogs history.

Following Page’s departure, the No.26 would be bestowed upon a third Charlie in succession. However, this Charlie ranks a little higher among the Bulldogs’ all-time greats…

PREMIERSHIP HEROES

Charlie Sutton is rightly regarded as one of the greatest players to have ever worn the red, white, and blue, and throughout his career embodied everything that makes the Bulldogs unique. A local boy recruited from Spotswood, Sutton built a reputation for his courage, tenacity and leadership across a career that spanned 15 years. A best-and-fairest winner, a representative for Victoria, and captain-coach of the 1954 Premiership success, Sutton is the reason that the No.6 is one of the most famous and coveted numbers in club history.

But prior to his storied journey in the No.6, Sutton actually wore the No.26 in his debut season at the club back in 1942. Despite today being recounted as one of the most famous names in the club’s history, Sutton struggled to hold a regular spot in the Bulldogs lineup early in his career, playing just eight times in a season that saw him in-and-out of the side on a consistent basis. He was recalled for the club’s Semi-Final encounter against South Melbourne, although an inaccurate Footscray side (7.22.64) kicked itself out of the game, and dashed any hopes of progressing further that year.

Sutton wouldn’t play again until after the conclusion of the Second World War, but when he did, he returned with a number change, now wearing the No.6 that has become synonymous with Sutton’s career.

The number then bounced around among names for several seasons. Twice during the 1940s, the number was worn by multiple players in the same campaign; Harry Chalmers and Leo Hillis both wore it during 1944, while Lou Barker and Max Isaac shared the number in 1947. The next long-term custodian of the number was Bill Scanland, who adopted the number after arriving from Melbourne. Used both in defence and through the midfield, Scanlan was an effective campaigner for Footscray; with 72 appearances to his name from 1949-53, no one has played more games in the No.26 for the Bulldogs than Scanlan (he actually joint-holds that record, but we’ll get to the other name later).

Yet another instance of the number being worn by multiple players in the same season occurred once Scanlan left the club at the end of 1953. Between Scanlan’s penultimate and final games for the club, the No.26 was worn just once by Jack Nuttall.

Originally from Sunshine, Nuttall was a rugged defender who slotted seamlessly into a backline that is regarded as one of the most miserly in league history. Although Nuttall would only wear the No.26 for a further two seasons and play just 27 games in his time at the Bulldogs, he left an indelible mark on the club, being named as the 19th man in the Grand Final. To date, Nuttall remains the only No.26 to represent the Bulldogs in a Grand Final.

THE GREATEST 26 OF ALL?

While there were many talented players who have adorned the No.26 for the Bulldogs over the decades, very few have enjoyed long-term success in the number. However, it’s not a number that is completely devoid of individual success; over the past century, just once has it reigned supreme to take out the club’s best-and-fairest.

Arriving from the famous breeding ground of Braybrook in 1959, Ray Walker wasted precious little time in establishing himself as a core member of Footscray’s defence, impressing in the back pocket. After breaking through at the end of the 1959 season, Walker’s rapid rise to prominence continued into the following year, playing every game for Footscray and impressing to the point where he was selected to represent Victoria.

He suffered an untimely setback in 1961, however. An eye injury sustained early in the campaign halted his progress, and his inability to regain his form upon return saw him dropped ahead of the finals series – a year where Footscray reached just its second Grand Final appearance.

The crowning moment of Walker’s career would arrive in 1963, when he began to revert to the impressive form that he had shown earlier in his career. Despite Footscray finishing 9th with just seven wins to its name for the year, Walker managed to play all but one game, made a return to play for Victoria, was selected in the club’s first-ever Night Premiership team, and took out his sole Best and Fairest award, outperforming some of the most famous names in club history, including the likes of EJ Whitten, John Schultz and John Jillard.

Injuries would sadly continue to wreak havoc on Walker’s career in 1964, and he would leave to assume the role of captain-coach at Burnie partway through the 1965 season, having played just 15 more times for the club after his 1963 triumph. Along with Bill Scanlan, Walker’s 72 games in the No.26 remains a joint-club record.

THE BARREN YEARS

Following Walker’s departure, the No.26 then suffered through a couple of decades without much sustained representation. Between 1966-89, ten different custodians wore the No.26, combining for only 140 games – an average of just under six matches a season. There were five seasons where the number appeared just once for the year, and a further two where it didn’t appear at all.

The pick of the players in that era was Richard Murrie, who enjoyed a thorough apprenticeship prior to joining Footscray, plying his trade both at SANFL Reserves and QAFL level, prior to arriving at the club at just 19 years of age. From there, he played 68 games for the club, impressing with his foot skills for a tall defender, before enjoying stints at both Geelong and Richmond in the latter half of his career.

A ‘FATHER SON’ AND A MISTAKEN IDENTITY

While most of the custodians of the No.26 throughout the 70s and 80s only played a handful of matches (Murrie aside), there is one notable name that leaps off the page: Steve Hargrave.

On its own, Hargrave’s career at the Bulldogs wasn’t a particularly notable one. After playing in consecutive Premierships for Perth in the 1970s, he moved to Footscray in 1982, played twice, and never played for the club again.

However, for Bulldogs fans who suddenly have a feeling that the name sounds familiar, its because almost 20 years after Steve last played for the club, his son Ryan debut for the very same club. Technically speaking, Ryan didn’t arrive at the club as a Father-Son recruit, given that Steve played well below the minimum number of games required for Ryan to be eligible, but the Bulldogs still opted to bring him to the club, having recruited him as part of the club’s famed 1999 ‘super draft’.

Initially, Ryan started his career wearing the No.33, finally breaking through in 2002 and playing 19 games for the year. But at the conclusion of the season, Ryan made a request for a number switch, wanting to adopt to same number that his father wore. However, Ryan incorrectly believed that Steve wore No.25, hence why Ryan donned that number for the remainder of his career, forging a 203-game career in a successful Bulldogs era.

A RETURN TO FORM

Following a prolonged spell with the No.26 changing hands without much success, things took a turn for the better during the 1990s, with just two players carrying the number with solid spells for the decade.

After the number went unoccupied in 1989, the number was handed to Danny Del-Re, who became something of a cult figure at Footscray in the early 1990s, enjoying a short but sweet career at the club, with his strength in one-on-one contests and sharp shooting a real feature in his game. Over the course of 62 games at the Bulldogs, Del-Re twice topped the club’s goalkicking with a career tally of 139 goals; the most kicked by a Bulldogs No.26. Undoubtedly, his best season came in 1992, where he kicked 70 goals in 22 matches as the Bulldogs reached a Preliminary Final. The standout performance came in the Qualifying Final against Geelong, where Del-Re booted a career-high eight goals despite Footscray suffering a heavy defeat. To this day, it remains a club record for the most goals kicked by an individual in a final.

After Del-Re’s departure in 1994, the number was handed down to an 18-year-old Simon Cox, a tall, mobile winger with strong aerial presence. For most of his time at the club, he was primarily a depth player, only once playing more than eight games in his first five seasons for the club. But he was the first Western Bulldog to wear the No.26 when he lined up in the season opener against Fremantle in 1997 after the club underwent its name change from Footscray. Cox began to establish himself as more of a regular start towards the end of his time at the Bulldogs, playing 31 games across his last two seasons at the club before moving to Hawthorn at the end of 2001.

BIRTHDAY DEBUT

Under the tutelage of Rodney Eade, the Western Bulldogs side in the latter half of the 2000s is arguably one of the most talented teams that the club have ever assembled, reaching three consecutive Preliminary Finals as it dominated the competition with a fluid attacking lineup supplemented by a rock-solid defence. However, one notable lament that exists with that group of players is that it was just one dominant key forward away from being a Premiership side. It certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying on the Bulldogs’ front; many key forwards came and went during the Eade years, but for various reasons, none of them were able to break through.

One of the more notable cases of what might’ve been on the key forward front was Tim Walsh. Taken at Pick 4 in the 2002 draft, hopes were high that Walsh would eventually take over from the ageing Chris Grant and become the Bulldogs’ main attacking target for many years to come. Unfortunately for Walsh and the Bulldogs, injuries cruelled his five-year career at the club. A broken leg, a broken thumb, an ACL rupture and several soft tissue injuries were among the injuries that he sustained over the journey, and by the end of 2007, the Bulldogs made the call to delist him.

However, despite the frustrations that Walsh endured, he did manage to break through for a sole game against North Melbourne in 2005. The circumstances were set up perfectly for Walsh; sitting in the crowd that night was his father, Geoff (who also happened to be North’s CEO at the time), and the game itself fell on the 14th of May – the very day of his 20th birthday.

The crowning moment of Walsh’s career came six minutes into the third term. Statless to that point, he took a chest mark on the lead before going back and converting the set shot from outside 50, joining the “First Kick, First Goal” club in the process. The goal put the Bulldogs eight points in front, and helped kickstart an inspired run of form that saw the Bulldogs cruise to a big win.

MODERN DAY

The turn of the century has seen the No.26 return to the exchange-fest that we saw throughout the 70s and 80s, with many different names trying their hand at forging a career in the number. Between 2002-08, the number was worn just three times by three different players (Aaron James in 2002, Tim Walsh in 2005, and Sam Reid in 2008).

Jamason Daniels carried the number for two seasons without breaking through for a debut, before the number was given to Zephaniah Skinner, whose freakish athletic ability saw him quickly become a cult figure, despite playing just eight games in two seasons, before the pull to return to his home town of Noonkanbah became too strong.

Following Skinner’s departure, the No.26 went to another Father-Son recruit in Lachie Hunter. Unlike Ryan Hargrave, Hunter did arrive via the league’s official Father-Son rules and wore the number for his first two seasons at the club, playing 23 games in that period. At the conclusion of the 2014 season, Hunter transitioned to the No.7 guernsey and enjoyed an accomplished career, namely playing in the club’s 2016 Premiership triumph.

It wouldn’t be until 2018 that the No.26 would return to AFL action, with Declan Hamilton unable to break through for a debut in that time. Its fortunes quickly changed when the Bulldogs took a punt on mature-aged recruit Billy Gowers. Gowers, who had been heavily involved in Footscray’s VFL program the year prior, was quickly promoted through the Bulldogs’ ranks and became the fourth 26 to lead the club’s goalkicking, finishing with 26 goals in 2018. Indeed, he also became the first Bulldog in 28 years to lead the club’s goalkicking in his first season at the club.

After impressing in the 20 games he played in his maiden season at the club, Gowers fell out of favour afterwards, playing just 13 more times before leaving the club at the end of the 2020 season.

The second-most recent custodian of the No.26 was Dom Bedendo, who arrived at the club during an awkward period, with his selection in the 2020 National Draft coinciding with the height of the COVID Pandemic. In what was a largely frustrating few seasons at the club, with injuries regularly holding him back, Bedendo did manage to break through for two games in the 2022 season, even kicking a goal on debut in a heavy defeat to Brisbane. He was let go by the club at the end of 2024, months before the Bulldogs drafted the current custodian of the No.26, Josh Dolan, who has already left his mark on the legacy of the Bulldogs No.26, kicking the sealing goal in Footscray’s VFL Premiership win last year, the crowning moment in a maiden season where he also played 11 senior games, and will be hoping to go on and write the No.26’s best chapter yet.