slump saw the Bulldogs consigned to a third consecutive year without the double chance, finishing outside of the top four by just 0.5% after the Brisbane Lions supplanted them in the final round. Despite the disappointing end to the regular season, the Bulldogs were finally able to progress to the second week of the finals after a thumping 49-point win over Essendon in the first elimination final. The Bulldogs would then go on to progress to their first preliminary final since 2016 after an enthralling one-point win over Brisbane in the semi final, before securing a second Grand Final appearance in six years after thrashing Port Adelaide by 71 points in the prelim. However, the Bulldogs were comprehensively outplayed by Melbourne in the grand final, losing to the Demons by 74 points. The Bulldogs were looking to atone for their galling grand final defeat ahead of the 2022 season. However, the Dogs were very inconsistent and were fortunate to qualify for a fourth consecutive finals berth, finishing eighth with a 12–10 win-loss record and narrowly supplanting ninth-placed Carlton by 0.6%. The Bulldogs started their elimination final encounter with Fremantle strongly, leading by as much as 41 points during the second quarter, but would fade out dramatically to lose by 13 points. Identity Nickname and mascots Footscray went by a variety of nicknames during the VFA years, including the Bone Mill Fellows, the Saltwater Lads, and, most popularly, the Tricolours, in reference to the club guernsey. Footscray came to be known locally as the Bulldogs during the 1920s. At a club social function on 1 November 1920, "a red, white, and blue flag, bearing the words "bulldog tenacity" blazoned in gold, and bearing a picture of a typical bulldog, was presented to [then president David] Mitchell on behalf of the club". As early as the 1922 season, an image of a bulldog was being stamped on the football club's members' tickets. In a game against Collingwood at the Western Oval on 23 June 1928, a bulldog mascot was "led onto the field at three-quarter time ... to the wild applause of the callow youth", and was photographed with Footscray captain Paddy Scanlan. In another report on the same match, mention was made that "the Bulldogs were contesting every inch in the air", indicating a widening use of the club nickname. The real-life mascot for the Western Bulldogs is a bulldog named