WHAT do Western Bulldogs co-captain Isabelle Pritchard, pop music star Miley Cyrus and mountaineer Tenzing Norgay have in common? They're all focussed on 'The Climb'. 

Those inside the four walls at Mission Whitten Oval haven't been surprised by the Bulldogs' sharp rise in 2026. 

Over the past few years since coach Tam Hyett took over from Nathan Burke, this was always seen as the year in which they'd rise up the ladder. 

But they're delivering and in a big way. 

‘The Climb' has been the theme behind everything that the Bulldogs have done this year.

It all started during the pre-season, when the players and staff filed into the lecture theatre at the club with Cyrus' smash hit The Climb blasting over the speakers. 

"I remember so distinctly when we walked in that day and Tam presented it. It was ridiculous but it was awesome," co-captain Isabelle Pritchard told AFL.com.au.

Sitting in fourth place on the AFLW ladder with a win-loss record of 8-2, Hyett's young pups can almost see it, the dream they're dreaming. 

But at the same time, they knew it was always going to be an uphill battle and that sometimes they're gonna have to lose. 

When Hyett took over, she knew there was a big task ahead of her. 

The Bulldogs had been dwelling in the depths of the ladder for several seasons. Players wanted out, the wins were few and far between and things weren't going swimmingly by any means. 

But the girl from the western suburbs has always been up for the challenge.

In Hyett's first year in charge, there was a significant player and staff turnover. Almost a third of the playing list was new and the club's off-field group had also undergone drastic change. 

They were starting from the bottom with a clean slate. 

Hyett's first season was all about discovery. Which players would suit the gameplan she wanted to implement? Which roles would get the best out of each player? What did the players think of the X, Y, Z elements of the strategy? The playing group was raw and they needed to lay some foundations.

In that 2024 campaign, the Bulldogs finished in 12th place with four wins. 

The next year was all about consolidating, with a particular focus on contest work. While that first year was all about defence, the second season under Hyett had a strong focus on getting structures right around the footy. It was the natural second phase of the group's development. 

Last year, the Bulldogs won five games but a healthy percentage of 126.5 per cent meant they only missed out on finals action by a solitary win. Everyone could see the inroads the group was making.

This year has been about 'The Climb'. While ‘The Climb' refers to a rise up the ladder, it also encompasses the club's sustained high-performance attitude both on and off the field.

Those are the key focus areas for the Bulldogs this year and as of right now, things are going smoothly.

But back to Tenzing Norgay, a Nepalese-Indian mountaineer who was the Sherpa that accompanied Edmund Hillary as the first people to ascend to the top of the tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest. 

If you were to ask someone down the street who the first person to climb Everest was, they'd probably suggest Hillary. But Norgay was right by his side. 

The Bulldogs want to be Sherpas.

"You don't ever really hear about the Sherpa who carried the pack, for us it's about recognising hard work and selflessness, not just the best player or the players getting recognition externally," Pritchard said.

Every day, Bulldogs players 'clip in' when they arrive at the club. In the hallways of Mission Whitten Oval, just outside of Hyett's office, there is a climbing rope strung up below a board of hooks, each containing an individual carabiner for every player and staff member.

It symbolises "locking in" when you arrive at the club, ready to work hard and give your all in a bid to improve. But at the same time, it represents clocking out and being able to escape the footy world at the end of the day.

"It doesn't seem like that much, but it's become really significant and symbolic to the playing group," Pritchard said.

Hyett added: "There's a lot that goes on away from the football club, but this is a pretty cool bubble so once you get here, it's important to be present. Our carabiners signify locking in and when you leave, you can have that balance and switch off from football."

Before every match, players will chat to a teammate about a goal for the game that helps them become 'locked in'. Coaches will do the same. For example, that could be something around clear communication, or defensive intent at stoppages.

Those mountaineering themes are running through the plumbing at Mission Whitten Oval.

Every round, the club awards a Sherpa of the Week as well. This person has represented the club's values and guiding principles strongly and they're awarded the giant carabiner to add to the ‘lock in' wall too.

It can go to both players and staff and acknowledges the work that people do behind the scenes that may go unnoticed externally, but is so crucial to the internal success of the club. 

"My favourite thing is seeing the reaction of people who have just gone about their business for so long, it's nice to show them how much we value them," Pritchard said.

Players will get up in team meetings, having prepared vision of others showing these values. It could be picking up a teammate off the ground, a fantastic one percenter or something that others might not see. 

"Each year we've been building, this year we want to climb. We say it out on the track, in our meetings and everything we do is surrounded by that," young gun Jasmyn Smith told AFL.com.au.

"We've adopted a Sherpa mentality. They're the people who help people get to Everest, or the top of the mountain. 

"You don't really hear about their stories, but they're the ultimate teammates. We all want to be Sherpas and help our teammates get the best out of themselves and each other."

The themes of mountaineering and climbing have been prevalent all year. The Bulldogs headed to the Grampians for their pre-season camp, where players were split into teams of six for a gruelling 13km trail run in tricky conditions. 

The catch? Groups had to clip into a 20-metre rope using a carabiner and stick together the whole way. You simply couldn't complete the challenge unless you worked as a team. 

"You really had to move as a group, which was really hard because some of the terrain was literally straight up. It had rained in the morning so it was super slippery … it was chaos," Pritchard recalled.

"It was awesome, super challenging though. The biggest thing from that was in order to succeed, you had to stay together. My group really pushed hard."

Along the way, teams had to stop off at certain checkpoints to complete a mental puzzle based upon the club's guiding principles.

Teams were required to navigate the course using a map and some had to double back if they got things wrong. It meant a 10km trail run turned into closer to 15km. 

"The ability to work together and work under fatigue together, problem solving, but also from a physical capacity, how can you help someone else come with you," Hyett said.

"That's symbolic of what we want things to look like on-field. We're all in it together. The higher you climb the harder it gets, but if you stay connected, that helps."

Pritchard said: "I came away from that camp thinking I'll remember that camp forever."

The Bulldogs started at base camp, now they're determined to ascend the mountain.

'We can compete with the best': How the Bulldogs have 'grown up'

HYETT knew the enormity of the challenge when she accepted the job. But she was never going to shy away from it.

The Bulldogs are in the third phase of Hyett's four-phase plan. They're climbing. The final stage is contending. 

"We want to climb up the ladder. There's certain KPIs that we want to be better at, a lot of it predominantly is focussed on our scoring output and what we're doing offensively with ball in hand," she said.

After focussing on defence and contest during her first two years in charge, the Bulldogs have put a stronger onus on their offence and ball movement in 2026.

Sure, it hasn't been pretty at times, but the evidence is there that they've drastically improved and are still improving.

"Our ability to grind out a game, it hasn't been pretty at times, but what we've been able to do in patches is show that our method works, we've just got to do it for longer," Hyett said.

"Our offence method is new, but the validation that it works and we've seen that has led to more speed on the ball and speed of skill to give us better looks ahead of the ball."

Hyett started at the Kennel at the same time as Executive Manager of Women's Football Patrice Berthold. The duo had identified some things that they wanted to change including behaviours and standards and got to work.

Pleasingly, the buy-in from both players and staff alike has been massive.

"The buy-in has been the biggest thing. Now it's not driven by staff and coaches, but players that are driving the high-performance standards and the want to get better," Hyett said.

"We probably had a group that didn't challenge each other enough, they were probably too worried about offending a teammate but now they've taken it more as their right, they've all bought in and want to challenge each other to be better."

Leading the charge is the group's strong cohort of leaders including co-captains Pritchard and De Berry, as well as the likes of Alice Edmonds, Jess Fitzgerald and Issy Grant. 

But it's not only up to that group of players. The Dogs have an emerging leaders group, as well as a ‘Pups Program' for the club's first- to third-year players.

"It's not left to the same people to drive that, that's a sign of a really good program and one that wants to be better. Every single player has bought in," Hyett said.

"I feel like the group has grown up. It's probably similar to my path, I was new to the role and they were probably new to some of the standards and behaviours that we wanted to really drive. It's almost like we've gone through it together, which is pretty cool. 

"We have an impatient industry at times, everyone has different lists and different strengths to their list, so it's about maximising that and I think now we're starting to see our players lean into their strengths."

Are the Dogs ready to compete with the best? Their impressive win against Carlton at the weekend was evidence that if they can produce their best footy for long enough, they're certainly on the right track.

Matches against Melbourne and Geelong over the next fortnight will give Hyett's side even more of a gauge of where they sit in the premiership race.

"I think we can compete with the best. The challenge for us is the consistency piece … If we can do that, we think we can challenge anyone," Hyett said.

"We want to become relevant. We won the flag in 2018, but post that we've just been known as a foundation club. That's something that really strong programs do, externally, people want to be there. 

"We've got a great facility, we've got great staff, I think we've got a great coaching group and we've got a great group of players to work with. Externally, I hope it's really attractive."

While the Bulldogs are hungry for success, they're also aware that things don't happen overnight.

"Individually, I'm impatient but it's also about understanding that things take time. We were coming from a fair way back, if you think about where we started, we were 18th, players were leaving, there was a coach turnover, no one wanted to stay and it probably wasn't an overly happy environment," Hyett said.

"Every now and then you've got to reflect and go, wow, from where we've come from we're doing pretty well. 

"I'm really proud, it's hard work and things don't just happen. The players have bought in, they want to get better and compete with the best, so they're working hard. Hard work doesn't mean it still can't be a fun environment."

Individual players have thrived under Hyett's leadership. Outside of the usual names like Pritchard and Edmonds, Heidi Woodley is having a career-best campaign, while Cleo Buttifant's move to the midfield has been a raging success given her unique athleticism and upside. 

Jess Fitzgerald keeps getting better and better, while others like Emma McDonald and Rylie Wilcox are firing on all cylinders.

"‘Fitzy' doesn't realise how good she can be. She's scratching the surface, she's almost an apologetic good player. She's starting to recognise, give the ball to me, I want the ball," Hyett said.

"It's about understanding how your strengths fit into what we want to do. How we want to play is to everyone's strength, so that when they come in they can use their weapon."

At 8-2, the Bulldogs are unashamed in their quest to feature in a finals campaign - and make a splash.

"I still think we've got a lot of improvement … What we know is we've set ourselves a really good foundation. We've got a tough finish against strong opposition, but that's the position we want to be in. We want to play against the best sides, it's pretty exciting," Hyett said.

"We want to play finals, we feel like we're in that bracket now that we can compete with those other teams that are striving to play finals. 

"We probably haven't even scratched the surface yet, that's the exciting thing. We've seen glimpses of what this group can do.

"I think that's credit to the staff and players, we've created an environment where people want to come and those that are here want to stay. They're going through it together."

‘Comfortable to still be me': How co-captaincy has led to career-best campaign

FOR SOME players, official leadership titles can be a burden. With all of the extra responsibilities that come with being the captain of a club, some players can't handle it. Not Pritchard.

Having been elevated to co-captaincy alongside Berry, Pritchard has put together a career-best campaign and has led from the front brilliantly all year, thriving in her new role. 

The star Dog has averaged career-best numbers across the board including disposals (25.8), clearances (6.8), inside 50s (4), rebound 50s (2.3), contested possessions (13.9) and score involvements (4.8). 

Pritchard is also 11th for coaches' votes this year, underlying just how important she has been to the club's rise in 2026. 

And according to Hyett, the sky is the limit for the young Bulldog who has taken both her football and leadership to the next level. 

"We sort of forget, she's still only 24. The last two years she's been part of the leadership group but probably hasn't been the most vocal type, she sat a bit in the background and let others do their thing, but has always been a natural leader on field," Hyett said.

"That's what we saw when we were looking at the captaincy, she's a pretty natural leader on field who is a ‘come with me girls' type of leader, we knew that was one of her strengths but what we've seen is the captaincy title hasn't affected the way she plays. 

"That's a credit to her, it's pretty cool to see. She has a really strong, positive influence with the players off the field as well."

Hyett believes Pritchard has always had those leadership qualities, but this year they've come to the fore more than ever before. 

"She's pretty driven. She even said herself that she probably wasn't overly happy with the way she led last year. She did a fair bit of work on that, she's so hard on herself but it's been great to see how she's improved her leadership," she said.

"She understands when to switch on and when to switch off, she's got a really good balance."

With Berry sidelined for the early parts of the season due to a collarbone injury, Pritchard has been thrust into the deep end more than she perhaps thought she would. 

But she's taken to the role like a duck to water.

"It was a little bit surprising when I found out I'd be a captain. I've been really fortunate to have the support of De alongside me," Pritchard said.

"I'm still trying to find who I want to be as a captain. I don't think I've reached my final form, I don't think I'm anywhere near that as a leader.

"We all feel super confident and comfortable in our leadership group. We're having really productive conversations, it feels like we're really working as a group to make better outcomes. 

"It's pretty special, the nicest thing about it is I've never felt like I have to change or do anything differently. I'm comfortable to still be me."

Pritchard, who is also studying civil engineering, is the sort of leader who sets the tone on the training track, bringing intensity and energy all the time whether that's during a training session, gym workout or team meeting. 

She exudes positive energy, is a bubbly personality but above all else, wants to bring out the best in each one of her teammates. 

But she's far from the finished product. 

"I'd like to think I'm a good motivator, I really enjoy bringing other people along to celebrate," she said.

"I'm still figuring it out in a lot of ways. I don't really know my captain's identity just yet."

While her form on the field has been exceptional, her ability to show up every day off the field has also been a constant.

"In everything she does, she gives it 100 per cent. Even in the gym, if we're doing small gym stuff, she goes 100 per cent. It inspires everyone else to do the same," Smith said.

"She's not afraid to put herself out there. She's inspiring in the hard work sense, but she also brings a lot of play and humour."

'We want you': How Dogs won chase for star winger

JASMYN Smith has become a household name in the competition thanks in part to her prominence on social media, but she's so much more than an Instagram sensation. 

Smith's importance to the Bulldogs' onball brigade cannot be understated. While the likes of Pritchard and Fitzgerald often get the external plaudits, Smith's ability to patrol the wing is so crucial to how the Bulldogs move the ball. 

Her elite endurance base and football IQ, plus her toughness and willingness to run both ways has seen her become one of the best wingers in the competition. 

The Bulldogs love Smith and Smith loves the Bulldogs.

Smith's arrival at Mission Whitten Oval was at the same time as Hyett and Berthold entered the fray. 

Now three years into her journey in the western suburbs, Smith couldn't be happier.

"The first thing I noticed around Footscray was how many walls of Bulldogs and red, white and blue were all around," she said.

"That was something you don't really get on the Gold Coast, is people who absolutely bleed the colours of the club. That perspective of community is really big. Seeing how much we give back to the community is really big and it's something that the club really prides itself on.

"We're doing it for them, we represent a whole community when we go out onto the field, it's more than just our hard work behind the scenes."

The Bulldogs have become a destination club both in the men's and women's programs. 

Last year, the Dogs managed to land tough nut Mikala Cann from Collingwood. In the most recent men's trade period, the Bulldogs won the race for star midfielder Zak Butters, while also adding Finn Maginness, Jordon Butts and Hudson O'Keefe to the fold. 

Hyett's women's program intends to be aggressive in that space again this off-season.

List management teams across both programs are humming. They know what makes each target tick. 

Smith, who grew up on the Gold Coast and played juniors at Broadbeach Cats, remembers just how impressed she was in her meeting with the Bulldogs several years ago. 

Having spoken to four clubs, Smith was blown away by the Bulldogs. 

"In my mind I really wanted to get to Melbourne purely to figure out what football culture really meant and to grow my career outside of football as well," she said.

"When I moved to Melbourne, I realised the actual extent of how much people love it. Everyone thinks it's the coolest thing that you get to play football, everyone cares so much about footy and their team at any level. 

"I've had a few meetings before where you talk about the club, the club tells you why they're so good and what they do well. But when I sat in on the meeting with the Dogs, it was weirdly about me. I was like how do you know all of this? 

"They knew my strengths, they knew my weaknesses, they had gone and watched scrimmage footage of me. They could see this potential in me and they outlined it, they said this is why we want you because we think we have a role for you and we believe you can make a difference at the club."

The Dogs targeted Smith for a reason. She wasn't a star of the competition, but the club could see just how strong her strengths were. 

"Something that I've always prided myself on is my workrate, my off-seasons are always huge," Smith said.

"I'm a very self-motivated person, that was something the Bulldogs could see in me and they thought I could help inspire other girls. I felt like there was a place for me, not just a role on the field for me, but culturally too."

In the gym, Smith is methodical with a strong focus on the technique of each exercise. She is determined to maximise every opportunity she has.

It's no surprise that she is one of the hardest workers at the club. Everything she does has a focus on high performance and being the best she can be. 

That work ethic is something that has been instilled in her since she was a young girl growing up on the Gold Coast.

Both Smith's parents, Shane and Michaela, were professional athletes in their own right. Shane is a professional triathlete, while Michaela went to the Commonwealth Games to represent her country in badminton. 

"Two years out from my draft year, I went to my dad and said I really wanted to be drafted. I wasn't really a prospect at the time and wanted to get there. He said, ‘Perfect, let's get to work'," Smith said. 

During the off-season, Shane will sometimes ride his bike next to Jasmyn during her running sessions, helping her to get the most out of every day while also helping her put things into perspective when things get tough.

"He'd say ‘You think this is hard? I used to do 10 of these plus swim, plus bike'," she laughed.

"It puts it into perspective, he's always challenging me to do more, but he's also taught me to really listen to my body. 

"I'm very in tune with my body and how I feel and that's off the back of the mountain of work that my dad has put me through over the last few years. 

"Mum provides some great insight on her training and what she had to do too. Both my parents at different stages of their career had to work, which puts the position we're in into perspective as well."

Smith is so grateful to be able to play football at the highest level and will stop at nothing to make sure she gets the most out of her time in the AFLW.

"I don't love how some people in the industry consider us footballers, we're athletes. We get paid to be that, so we should be living every single day as an athlete … I feel like my parents have given me a good perspective of what it is to be an athlete," she said.

Smith will spend time in a hyperbaric chamber every fortnight, while she'll get two massages a week and spends plenty of time focussing on her health and wellness. 

She always has a footy lying about her room as well. It may seem insignificant, but touching a footy all day helps give her that extra edge when it comes to gameday.

While some players are happy to kick up their feet in the off-season, Smith sees it as an opportunity to get an extra leg up on the rest of the competition. 

"I'm a very self-motivated person, so I see the off-season as another opportunity to be able to show up even better than the year before," she said.

While footy is such a key part of her life, Smith also makes sure she finds time to do the things she loves away from the game. The youngster loves spending time with friends and family, while she's also working hard with her burgeoning media career.

Smith has spent some time doing special comments on radio this year, while she also features weekly on Fox Footy's AFL Tonight program, previewing the weekend's upcoming AFLW action. 

And fun fact, in an alternative universe, her path may have crossed with award-winning actor Jacob Elordi. 

"I used to do performing arts at school. I loved Shakespeare, so I forced my teachers to teach it to me early. I loved it that much. I ended up competing in state-wide competitions and getting selected for national performances," she said.

"Jacob Elordi did the same thing two years before me. I was two years off meeting Jacob Elordi!" she laughed.

Smith represents everything the Bulldogs want to be. She has heaps of fun off the field, but when it's time to lock in, no one works harder than her. 

'We're climbing': Why the Bulldogs are daring to dream

WHETHER or not it happens this year remains to be seen, but the Bulldogs are dreaming about climbing the mountain and achieving the ultimate success. 

Hyett and her coaching staff had to press the reset button when they arrived. The club stuck to the plan and now the side is reaping the rewards.

"We were in a completely different position back then… we basically pressed the restart button," Pritchard said of when Hyett arrived at the club.

"You don't know what you don't know… we were a really young group at the time. ‘Burkey' (former coach Nathan Burke) probably gave us what we needed then. He created a very supportive environment and then when Tam and PB (Patrice Berthold) came in, it felt like we'd taken a really big step forward. 

"You can feel the progression that we've had each year, which I think gives players a lot of excitement. You can feel our gameplan and the way we want to move the ball grow each year. We can actually see results as well.

"It's really nice because I think we can feel ourselves building each week. But we're not satisfied where we are. We're climbing, but we're not at the top yet.

"I think we are still realistic that there's a way to go, but in the near future we have the expectations and belief that we can achieve the ultimate success. That leaves us with hunger and drive to keep improving."

Hyett has placed such a strong focus on building relationships, both on and off the field.

"The relationships we have with one another keeps us quite playful and fun. We're a pretty close group, it still feels fresh and very playful but each year we've sort of progressed. You can feel the want and the drive from the playing group," Pritchard said.

"I think you can feel the one pack mentality grow. We can all see the direction we're heading."

The players adore Hyett, who has been able to strike the balance between caring for her players and being tough when she needs to be.

"She's really playful which I really enjoy. She finds the balance between being a bit of a hard-ass, but also giving a motherly hug. I don't know if she understands how much we value when she shows us a bit more of herself," Pritchard said.

"She is tough when she needs to be but also really warm when she needs to be as well."

Her coaching group represents those same values as well. Peter Mercoulia is seen as a senior coach in waiting, former Pie Callum Brown is a natural in the coaches box, Andrew Killingsworth has his forwards firing on all cylinders and Liam Cavanagh blends the club's AFLW and VFLW programs beautifully. 

"Everyone across the entire program has really endeavoured to upskill themselves and now it's starting to show," Smith said.

The high-performance nature of the program involves both players and staff. The coaches will often bounce ideas with those in the men's program, while also seeking advice from other sports too.

"Tam's awesome. She's so relationship-based, which I think is really important. Especially when it comes to giving feedback, nothing comes across as harsh, but she's a mate and has built relationships behind the scenes," Smith continued.

"I think that's really important, so that when we are receiving critical feedback, you don't even think about taking it to heart, you just take it on board. 

"She doesn't even need to remind you of that because we've built such a good relationship, she's like our mum, she's so great."

Finally, the Bulldogs are seeing the vision come to life.

"We outlined the vision of where we wanted the program to go, but we knew we were very much at the early stages. In terms of our on-field performance, there were things we wanted to do, but we weren't quite there yet, so we focussed on working on other things right," Smith said of when Hyett initially began.

"It wasn't about wins and losses, every game we came away with plenty of learnings. We tried different things each game and consolidated our identity as a team.

"There's been so much buy-in and wanting to work."

In both of Hyett's first two years in charge, the Bulldogs came home strongly. It lit the flame for big off-seasons, which has laid the platform for a strong 2026 campaign to date.

"That inspired us over the off-season. ‘I wish this season was longer, we've got to this point, let's make our season longer by making it to finals, which means we need to work really hard'," Smith said.

"The way we finished those first two seasons under Tam probably helped us find that motivation as a group over the off-season."

The hunger and drive at the Bulldogs has never been greater. They've passed base camp and are on the ascent. A summit push awaits.

They're determined to keep on moving, keep climbing.

Because after all, it's all about 'The Climb'.