Western Bulldogs defender Alex Keath has revealed the two words inspiring his side as it looks to repeat the premiership heroics of 2016.
If the Western Bulldogs are feeling even the tiniest bit nervous ahead of their do-or-die clash against the Brisbane Lions on Saturday night, you would never be able to tell in a million years.
Bulldogs star Alex Keath emphasised the club’s mantra going into the finals and boldly declared the side would play “anyone, anytime”.
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The club will take on the Lions on enemy territory at the Gabba, but having stopped the rot of a three-game losing streak, Keath believes his side is perfectly primed to get the job done on Saturday.
“I think we are building quite nicely,” Keath said.
“We obviously had a few injuries throughout the year that meant that different guys have had to come in and play in different combinations throughout the course of the season.
“I think that’s been a bit of a strength as well. We’ve had a bit of a mantra of ‘anyone, anytime’, and I think Rohan Smith’s been working really hard to make sure that we are adaptable to different opponents and different situations.
“We hope that that holds us in good stead for the remaining weeks.”
On a personal note for the 29-year-old, the Bulldogs’ dominant 49-point victory against Essendon allowed Keath to shake off an unwanted record throughout his career.
He’s now able to say he has won a game in an AFL finals series, and Keath was proud as punch at his new accomplishment.
“It felt great, I played last year against St Kilda and we went down by a few points in the end,” Keath said.
“In that game in particular we started really poorly and then just tried to claw our way back and in the end the Saints were able to hang on.
“To get my first finals win, personally was really, really pleasing.”
If Keath wants to add another finals win under his belt, he and his Bulldogs teammates will have to contend with a full day in a Brisbane hotel before the first bounce on Saturday night.
Originally, the Bulldogs had requested for a daytime game, but with the confirmation the game will begin at 7:20pm AEST, it adds an extra challenge for Luke Beveridge’s team in order to maintain their focus.
However, Keath believes it will be business as usual, especially since they have been in a similar situation before.
“We’ve been over to Perth a couple of times in the middle of the year and had a very similar set-up there,” he said.
If it’s similar to that, we’ve been through it before.
“It’s not ideal but you can get up and move around the hotel, keep yourself going through the day.
“A few sleepy heads like to have a bit of a nap in the arvo anyway before a night game.
“It will be fine, I’m just grateful to have another opportunity and another crack at a big final.”
The Bulldogs go into the match with perhaps a slight mental edge, as they beat Brisbane by 19 points in round 4 this season.
The Lions are coming off a loss after going down against a strong Melbourne side in the second qualifying final and are hoping to end an 18-year premiership drought.
But with a Bulldogs side still rich with talent from their 2016 premiership-winning side, Keath and his teammates will provide stiff opposition on Saturday night.
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