Editing Western Bulldogs (section)

===1990s===
The Bulldogs began the new decade in promising fashion, finishing in seventh place with twelve wins in 1990, including one against eventual premiers Collingwood, when [[Follower (Australian rules football)|rover]] [[Steven Kolyniuk]] ran around the man on the mark and kicked a goal to put his team in front. Although they just missed out on the finals, there was much to look forward to, and the year was capped off with diminutive rover [[Tony Liberatore]] winning the Brownlow Medal.

After a disappointing 1991, the Bulldogs bounced back in 1992, finishing second on the ladder and making their first finals appearance since 1985. [[Danny Del-Re]] was an excellent full-forward, while champion veterans Hawkins, Royal, Wallis, Foster and MacPherson helped ensure the club played its best football in many years. Scott Wynd capped a magnificent year with the Brownlow Medal, while [[Chris Grant (footballer)|Chris Grant]] and [[Simon Atkins (footballer)|Simon Atkins]] also had outstanding seasons.

In 1994 and 1995, the Bulldogs again made the finals, only to be eliminated by Melbourne and Geelong, respectively. [[Leon Cameron]] and [[Daniel Southern]] were stars. In August, Ted Whitten died from prostate cancer; such was his status in the game that he was given a [[state funeral]]. In his honour, the club renamed the Western Oval the Whitten Oval, and a memorial statue of Whitten was erected outside the stadium.

Under the tightly focused management of club president [[David Smorgon]], driven coaching by [[Terry Wallace]], and the on-field leadership of [[Chris Grant (footballer)|Chris Grant]] (who narrowly missed a Brownlow Medal in 1996 and 1997) and [[Tony Liberatore]], the club had a successful period through the mid- to late 1990s, making the finals from 1997 to 2000. The 1997 season is remembered for the club's cruellest loss, to eventual premiers Adelaide in the preliminary final by two points after leading for much of the game and appearing to be headed for their first grand final since 1961. [[Rohan Smith]], [[Brad Johnson (Australian footballer)|Brad Johnson]], Chris Grant, [[Jose Romero (Australian rules footballer)|Jose Romero]], [[Paul Hudson (footballer)|Paul Hudson]] and company were catalysts in a fine season.

The Bulldogs would again feature in the finals in 1998, after heavily defeating West Coast in the qualifying finals, they met Adelaide again in the losing preliminary final. The Bulldogs eventfully lost by 68 points against the reigning premiers who went on to claim their second consecutive premiership in the grand final that following week.

The Bulldogs would make their third consecutive top 4 finish in 1999 but they suffered consecutive finals losses to West Coast and Brisbane.

In late 1996, the club changed its playing name from ''Footscray'' to the ''Western Bulldogs'' to market the club more broadly (specifically the western suburbs of Melbourne).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historical Timeline {{!}} Western Bulldogs |url=https://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/history/timeline/1990s |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=westernbulldogs.com.au |language=en}}</ref> To coincide with the change, the club moved their home games from the Whitten Oval, originally to [[MC Labour Park|Optus Oval]] from 1997 to 1999, and then to the newly built [[Docklands Stadium]] for the 2000 season.