Brad Johnson: Premiership success set the club up forever

Brad Johnson talks about growing up in the Western suburbs of Melbourne and the significance of landing at Whitten Oval and then creating a legacy with his boyhood club. He remembers his participation in what became the Year of the Dogs, which was the Bulldogs’ rapid ascension up the ladder following the appointment of Terry ‘Plough’ Wallace as head coach. Wallace was a unique and passionate coach, and Johnson says it was no more evident than when he walked into the club on a Monday following a preliminary defeat to the Adelaide Crows to find Wallace with “we blew it” scrawled in pen on his forehead. Johnson also learnt the hard way to never talk about Wallace’s at-home solarium. The 364-gamer, whose career spanned 16 years and saw him kick 558 goals, delights in the Western Bulldogs success of recent years.