Despite suffering a serious injury Bailey Dale played out the Western Bulldogs’ final match

Bailey Dale during the round 24 match between Western Bulldogs and Fremantle at Marvel Stadium, August 24, 2025. Picture: Getty Images

THE WESTERN Bulldogs would have been without All-Australian hopeful Bailey Dale for this year’s finals series had they qualified, after the defender suffered a broken wrist during last Sunday’s defeat to Fremantle.

Dale bravely played through the entire final quarter with the wrist injury, having fallen awkwardly on his arm in the third term, with scans in the subsequent days confirming a nasty fracture.

It makes Dale’s late efforts all the more remarkable, with the Bulldogs star racking up eight disposals and two marks in a gallant final quarter effort that helped pull his side to within 15 points of the Dockers before just falling short.

Dale underwent surgery on Tuesday to stabilise the fracture and repair the injury, with his arm set to be in a cast for the next fortnight. He would have been ruled out for the entire finals series, had the Dogs qualified.

But the Bulldogs’ medical staff are confident the running half-back’s fracture will heal and he will regain full fitness before the start of the side’s 2026 pre-season campaign over the summer.

The Bulldogs’ slim finals hopes were dashed on Wednesday evening when Gold Coast soundly defeated Essendon in the season’s final game to ensure a ninth-place finish for Luke Beveridge’s team despite an impressive 14-9 record.

Dale was one of five Western Bulldogs players – alongside his captain Marcus Bontempelli, as well as Sam Darcy, Tom Liberatore and Ed Richards – to be named in the extended 44-player All-Australian squad earlier this week.

Should he make the final team, which will be announced on Thursday evening, it would be Dale’s second blazer having also earned an All-Australian selection when the Bulldogs last made the Grand Final in 2021.

Dale was rewarded for another stellar campaign when he signed a two-year contract extension last week, on top of the two years he already had remaining on his existing deal, taking him through until at least the end of 2029.