The flag win and flag dream that keep re

ADAM Treloar was 0-8 in Grand Finals before he arrived at Princes Park on Sunday. Now he finally has a premiership to his CV. But the reason he re-signed with the Western Bulldogs for 2026 is to win one at the highest level.

The 32-year-old endured a mentally and physically exhausting 2025 season due to repeat calf tears dating back to the pre-season, months after he was selected in the All-Australian team for the first time.

Treloar didn't play until round eight, lasted only one game and featured just four times at AFL level this year, amid a season where the Bulldogs spent more time outside the eight than in it.

The former Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney midfielder ultimately ran out of time to prove his fitness for the crucial round 24 game against Fremantle, which ended the Bulldogs' campaign.

Instead of shutting his season down there and then, Treloar opted to play out the year in the VFL, where he finished the season with a premiership medal after Footscray held off Southport by 10 points last weekend.

"I'd never won a club premiership at any level, so when they came back and it was 64-all I thought it was going to happen again. I openly say it was the most favourite win of my career, and I've had some pretty good wins and played in some big games, but that is probably the number one for me," Treloar told AFL.com.au this week.

"It was just an amazing feeling once that siren went. I still pinch myself that I’m a premiership player, regardless of whether its AFL, VFL, local footy, I don't really care where it would have been. I felt quite emotional."

Treloar met with Luke Beveridge in the days after the Western Bulldogs' season-ending loss to the Dockers and made the decision to finish the season with Footscray.

The Victorian didn't have a contract for next year at the time and risked damaging his chances of securing one at the Whitten Oval – or elsewhere, for that matter – if he broke down again, but he wanted to prove his body could stand up.

"I played three and a half [AFL] games because I came out of that fourth one. This time we tried a couple of different things with the rehab with the calf and I felt like it has worked really well. I've had a really, really good three or four months of continuity," Treloar said.

"I was really peaking to play the last round of the year against Freo. I played a half in the VFL against Carlton (the week before) and I knew it was going to be a long shot to play the Freo game, which I totally had no issue with because on the back of hurting myself quite a bit I didn’t think I was going to play.

"When the boys lost, I had a conversation with Bevo and at the end of the conversation I knew it was a great opportunity for me to play footy, it wasn't even about winning a premiership point of view at that point, why not play? People might say it is an ego hit, but for me it wasn't. I'm not better than anyone else out there to play VFL football, anytime I can represent the footy club I will do that. I did it and I'm so glad that I did."

Since Treloar collected a blazer for the first time and finished runner-up behind Marcus Bontempelli in the 2024 Charles Sutton Medal, he has suffered six calf strains. Not all were on the same leg. Some were minor, only a week or two. Others required months of rehab to fully recover from.

Treloar had a history with soft tissue injuries, but never like this. The former Giant and Magpie had played at least 17 games in all but one other season when he played 10 in the COVID impacted season in 2020, averaging 18.4 games across 14 years in the AFL.

"This year was a bit of a blur to be totally honest. I just always felt I had so much left to give. I think every time I hurt myself I'd question whether I'd be able to get back. I thought at AFL level we were good enough to get somewhere, so that's what kept me motivated," he said.

"When I did get back to play, in those games it was great to know that I could still contribute, and that was basically off the back of no pre-season, no training, no match sim, no nothing. For me to still be able to go out there and contribute gave me great peace of mind that I hadn't lost it, because there was always going to be doubt there.

"When I got injured it was easy for me to know I still had something there, because off limited everything I knew I could still contribute. Being able to play these last four VFL games was a big part of that because I was questioning myself. I questioned whether I still had the ability to go out there and play well. The fact I was able to do that, I'm proud of. That gave me great peace of mind.

"I always have that competitive fire in the belly, regardless of doing a fresh grade-three calf where I know I'm missing eight weeks or a very low level one where I know I'm missing one or two, I still have that fire in the belly. It doesn't leave me. When it does leave me, that's when I know I’m done. It has been a tough year, but I wouldn't change it, put it that way, because I have learned so much as a person."

The Western Bulldogs, understandably, needed to wait and see if Treloar could string a block of games together in the closing months of the season before extending him for another season. Rival clubs enquired during that time, but Treloar only wanted to remain at the Kennel.

Now out the other side of a challenging year, Treloar believes he can recapture his 2024 form in a combination of an inside/outside midfield role, with more time spent forward in 2026, complementing the emergence of Joel Freijah and the addition of Matt Kennedy.

The renaissance of Hawthorn veteran Jack Gunston, who became a two-time All-Australian at 33 in 2025, and the sustained brilliance of Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield and Collingwood games-record holder Scott Pendlebury show what is still possible in the twilight.

"I take a lot of great motivation out of seeing older statesmen in the league play good footy, like Jack Gunston, like Patty Dangerfield, Scott Pendlebury, Travis Boak right up until he finished. These guys who are playing good footy right into their 30s. That gives me great motivation. I just hope I can get the continuity in the training and hit the ground running,” he said.

Treloar will spend most of the off-season in Melbourne with his family – his fiancée Kim Ravaillion is in the middle of the AFLW season as the Demons' player development manager – preparing for what could be his final year in the AFL.

After finally becoming a premiership player for the first time last Sunday, Treloar is all-in on 2026 for one purpose - winning the ultimate prize. He played in the 2021 Grand Final loss, after falling a Dom Sheed shot short of winning a flag at Collingwood. Then there were the losing Grand Finals with Noble Park that haven't been forgotten.

"That is the sole reason. People talk about the camaraderie side, the mateship side, building relationships, I love all that and know I'll miss that, but the main drive is the fact that I'm just desperate for an AFL premiership," he said.

"The VFL premiership means the world to me, and I'll always be proud of that, but the main drive is certainly an AFL premiership.

"If I felt that it was maybe a bit of a long shot, maybe there would have been a consideration to retire. But I genuinely believe with the group that we have that our best is good. That keeps me driven, keeps me motivated and is the reason I want to keep playing."

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