But the rise of the young Doggies has been so swift that in three short years he has gone from making his debut in a perpetual also-ran team to wearing a premiership medal.

It felt like the whole of Melbourne was behind the Bulldogs, a team that had not won a grand final since 1954.

But it would always be most special for the die-hard fans who decked their homes and businesses in red, white and blue.

Bontempelli said he knew how much the win meant to the 'Doggies' fan base in the western suburbs.

"You can see it in their eyes, they've devoted themselves to the club, given themselves up to the ride, as have we," he said.

"They've ridden every bump, what an amazing feeling."

Bontempelli said the Western Bulldogs had tried to ignore the commentary around their club this year.

"It's an attitude for us all that we just keep it simple, we've never read too much into it," he said.

"There's going to be articles written every week and we just need to do everything we can to keep things as simple as possible."

He said while they may have been the sentimental favourites of the football world on Saturday, he did not expect the affection from other clubs' supporters to last.

"We probably made ourselves the hunter this year, the shoes's definietly going to be on the other foot next season," he said.

"But I'm not even going to look that far ahead, I'm going to enjoy the rest of tonight and have a good time."

Bontempelli has become a Bulldogs' favourite, for his gentlemanly demeanour and on-field heroics.

The midfielder was considered an outside chance for this year's Brownlow medal and he became part of the 'Doggies' leadership group, an honour he said he never expected so early in his career.

Tom Boyd has come under more scrutiny, the recipient of a generous pay deal some critics and fans said he did not deserve.

But he played well when in counted, in the grand final, kicking 3.2 and finishing the match with 27 disposals.

Boyd praised celebrated Doggies' coach Luke Beveridge, saying he had been "extremely supportive."

"I've never met a coach who's so personable with his players," he said.

"Bevo's been terrific for me, he's an incredibly supportive guy."

"He has great belief in me and in our group."

The Swans have been known for making very strong starts to games, a trait most commentators agreed the Western Bulldogs would need to find a way to combat if they were to have any chance against the bookies' favourite.

But the Doggies' managed to keep the bigger, taller team under control in a scrappy, low scoring first term and went into the break lightly ahead.

Boyd said Sydney were good starters, but so were the Bulldogs.

"We've put out some really good starts lately and we pride ourselves on being a four-quarter team," he said.

Boyd said he enjoyed playing the ruck, as well as up forward.

"I love the freedom around the ground, it suits my strengths and allows me to get involved and react at different points," he said.