Tough year ends on a high note for diehard Dogs fan

THERE is not much longest-serving Western Bulldogs Football Club member Clive Mitchell hasn’t seen in his time watching football.

Mr Mitchell has been a member of the club for 86 years, making the 92-year-old the club’s longest serving member and one of the longest in the AFL.

The diehard Doggies fan has been a member since 1934 and over that time has not missed many games.

Through his working days, getting to games was much easier given it was the Victorian Football League, but as the league has expanded nationally over the last 30 years, Mitchell has gone the extra mile to support his beloved Western Bulldogs.

Mr Mitchell jumps on the Bulldogs cheer squad bus, which travels to all interstate grounds, often making a holiday out of his football ventures.

He has seen the Dogs play at every current AFL venue, even travelling to New Zealand when the Dogs played an exhibition game there in 2000.

Prior to this year Mr Mitchell had “barely missed a game”, but unfortunately given this year’s circumstances he has been forced to watch on from his couch, an unusual vantage point for him.

The coronavirus pandemic saw fans unable to attend matches throughout the 2020 AFL season, this hitting supporters like Mr Mitchell the hardest.

In a bid to include fans in the matchday experience, clubs came up with a number of ways. One of which that was adopted by the Western Bulldogs was cardboard cut-outs of supporters which they could submit and a select few were situated in the stands to create a virtual cheer squad.

On Wednesday, the AFL honoured Mr Mitchell’s commitment by awarding him with his cardboard cut-out that featured on gameday earlier this year. Something that he was absolutely rapt with.

What is Mr Mitchell’s favourite memory from all these years watching football? While the premierships of 1954 and 2016 are clearly highlights, he said the weekly encounters with his friends in the cheer squad were memories he cherished.