Here is the Evidence that Footscray is a real candidate for the flag because of their “psyche” and….

Evidence that Footscray is a real candidate for the flag because of their “psyche” and the fact that they fled Sydney in a “panic”..

The Western Bulldogs, who will officially be called Footscray coming into Round 21, are determined to make the finals in 2024, and their opponents are only “watching them go crazy” as they go.

However, there is a level of selflessness that we may not have witnessed from other competitors this season beneath the spectacular individual efforts that have seen them defeat Fremantle, Carlton, Geelong, and Sydney in a six-week period.

Effortlessly shutting down the explosive Ed Richards on Sunday afternoon was the challenging assignment given to scrappy Swan James Jordan. The Footscray engine room went above and beyond to make Jordan’s job as difficult as possible with a number of selfless actions during the stoppage.

Richards overcame the former Demon’s lack of attention with the support of his teammates, guiding his club to a 39-point victory over the Swans at the top of the ladder with 25 disposals, seven inside 50s, 521 yards gained, and a goal during the game.

Former North Melbourne premier league player David King explained on Fox Footy’s First Crack why the Bulldogs’ less well-known players may carry them to victory in 2024.

“No one has picked apart the Dogs, they haven’t; they’ve been sleeping and watching them go crazy. Everyone has picked apart Sydney, and how to beat Sydney,” King said at the outset.

“I believe that in order to win premierships, you need to have something unique, something that is difficult to pinpoint with just one statistic or piece of insight.

“Jordan went to Richards today, and there’s a standstill on the attacking wing. There is a buy-in to make the team better. How many individuals, in your opinion, attempted to release Richards or give their friend a chop-out?

King then went on to show vision of star veteran Tom Liberatore repeatedly going out of his way to shepherd Jordan from his direct opponent Richards, which in the end threw Sydney’s structure around the ball (in this instance) out the window and resulted in a Footscray goal.

“There’s one block from Libba, there’s the second block from Libba, in comes a third from the side – and it causes a handover; Heeney has to go to Richards, because Jordan can’t get there, he panics, he tackles, free kick, set shot, kicks the goal from 50 (metres),” King continued.

“That there says to me, that they’re on a different plane than the rest, absolutely ‘what do we need to do for our mate?’. That’s a psyche that can take you a long, long way.

“They just need a little bit of luck over the next few weeks, and they are right in it, make no mistake – they are right in this.”

Liberatore ended with 22 touches, 15 contested possessions, seven clearances and six inside 50s, while Adam Treloar (40 disposals, 12 intercept possessions) and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (13 disposals, four goals) were outstanding.

Footscray next clash with Melbourne on Friday night, with a win taking them as high as fourth should several other results fall in their favour.