Why this Bulldog has followed the same pre-game ritual for eight years

Oskar Baker during the Western Bulldogs' clash with Fremantle in round four, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

OSKAR Baker started wearing a black armband in the first game after his mum Trudie passed away from breast cancer in 2017. Back then, the Queenslander was playing for Aspley in front of a few hundred people. On Sunday, he will continue that ritual in the annual Pink Lady game.

The 27-year-old has worn one in all 45 of his games for the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne – and every other game over the past eight years – to remind him that she is still on this journey with him. Baker also tapes both wrists before every game, writing 'Mum' on one and the nicknames she used to call him on the other.

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When others didn't believe he'd make it to the AFL, she believed he would. Brisbane cut him from the Lions' Academy as a teenager in 2015, and he didn't get a shot until the Demons plucked him out of the NEAFL with pick No.48 in the 2017 AFL Draft.

Just before Trudie lost her battle, Oskar promised her he would get drafted. The goal was to play one game at the highest level. Eight years later, Baker is still here, still turning up every day fighting for his next opportunity.

The MCG will be covered in pink on Sunday to help support, inform, connect and represent all Australians affected by breast cancer, and raise funds for Breast Cancer Network Australia. It's a significant day for the Western Bulldogs' finals chance, but even more significant for the wingman in the No.13 guernsey.

Oskar Baker (centre) with Tom Liberatore (left) and Marcus Bontempelli ahead of the 2025 BCNA Pink Lady match against Melbourne. Picture: Supplied

"Mum was always my biggest supporter growing up. Footy wasn't that easy for me; I had some challenges, getting cut from the Brisbane Lions' Academy, told I wasn't good enough multiple occasions, too small, wasn't going to make it," Baker told AFL.com.au ahead of the annual Pink Lady game on Sunday.

"Mum kept telling me that I was going to make it. When she fell sick, it was when I started to get some interest from clubs. I made the promise to her on her deathbed that I'd make it to an AFL club. She obviously wasn't around to see it happen, but it was incredibly special when that happened.

"My whole family knew the promise that I had made to her. It was as special for them as for me. I feel like she's been with me the whole way on this journey. My family have been very supportive, riding the highs and lows more than I do.

"To look back, you're happy to make a list and play one game to start but when you reflect and it's still going and you're eight years in, been lucky to play at two great clubs, and not just play once, it is more than I could really have dreamt of."

Oskar Baker celebrates a goal with Rhylee West during the Western Bulldogs' clash with Essendon in round five, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

Baker has played six senior games in 2025; he has only played more than that in two of his eight seasons. Melbourne delisted him at the end of 2022, before the Bulldogs signed him via the pre-season supplemental selection period.

Enduring what he did as a teenager has helped Baker cope with the brutal reality of life on the fringe, where your spot in the team is never safe week-to-week, let alone your contract status.

"My journey hasn't been the easiest. I'm on the fringe most weeks and I'm just under 50 games still, but I'm still driving week in, week out. Nothing I've earnt in this game has come easy. I kind of like it that way," Baker said at Mission Whitten Oval.

"I feel like I've had my fair share of adversity out of the AFL and inside the AFL. I just get satisfaction from proving people wrong; it is something that drives me.

"I've had that fire in my belly since I got cut from the Lions' Academy to prove them wrong and get drafted. You look back and look at blokes who were in those squads and were touted as better players than you and they're not at this level now."

Oskar Baker in action during Melbourne's clash with Fremantle in round 14, 2019. Picture: AFL Photos

Along with current players Jarrod and Tom Berry, plus former North Melbourne, Gold Coast and Adelaide midfielder Hugh Greenwood, Baker is a Breast Cancer Network Australia ambassador. While his mum lost her life to the disease, his nan and aunt are both survivors. He is a regular speaker at events, always looking to help others dealing with what he dealt with.

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"It's a massively significant day. I got told a statistic the other day that 21,000 Australians get diagnosed with breast cancer every year, which is quite extraordinary when you think about it," he said.

"Going through my story and everything I went through with my mum, I want to help other people that are going through the same thing my mum did. I want to be involved as much as I can. To see an MCG full of pink is awesome. Mum will be looking down extremely proud. I try and take mum into my day-to-day life and represent her. Try and help people and navigate the process."

Thousands of people take part in the BCNA Pink Lady pre-game event in round 23, 2023. Picture: AFL Photos

When Baker isn't playing or preparing for his next game, he is playing or preparing for another game. Bulldogs teammate Anthony Scott approached him and Bailey Dale one day in the Mission Whitten Oval gym with a proposition that has since become 'Duck Hook Golf'.

All three play golf religiously. All three consume plenty of golf content on YouTube. They saw a gap in the Australian market. PGA Tour golfer Wesley Bryan and his brother George have a channel called Bryan Bros Golf that captured their attention. Now the three Bulldogs are carving out a cult following one video at a time.

Western Bulldogs trio Anthony Scott, Bailey Dale and Oskar Baker. Picture: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos

"We are golf addicts. We love watching golf content on YouTube and like what others have done in the States. We saw a gap in the Australian market. 'Scotty' came up to us one day and just said he was thinking of doing something like this," he said.

"Duck Hook Golf is on a good trajectory at the moment. We've got a general manager on board now. It keeps us busy. We've got a lot of big things coming. We are on social media and looking to get into the YouTube space and merchandise. We think there is a pretty big gap in the Aussie market for golf content and apparel. That keeps us busy on days off away from the club."

Baker will wear his signature headband on Sunday – it won't be pink, although he contemplated asking the AFL for an exemption – along with the black armband, representing himself, his family and a community that knows acutely what it's like to deal with adversity.

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