Matt Shannon, wife Hannah and children Daisy, Lola and Betty walk onto the ground through a guard of honour formed by Bulldogs teammates on Saturday at Strathmerton Recreation Reserve.
A Strathmerton Football Club stalwart notched a mammoth milestone at the weekend, one which was celebrated accordingly the Bulldogs faithful.
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Lining up against Barooga in his 250th senior game for the club, long-time Bulldogs servant Matt Shannon was lauded by all in attendance for reaching the landmark achievement, having done it all during his time at the club.
Matt Shannon with his wife Hannah and children Daisy, Lola and Betty ahead of his 250th senior game for Strathmerton.
A life member, three-time premiership player, coach, captain and volunteer, Shannon is a true clubman in every sense of the word, so it was only fitting the club pulled out all the stops for a true Starthmerton champion.
His commitment, leadership, loyalty and countless hours behind the scenes have helped shape the club both on and off the field.
Matt Shannon with his father Ady, mother Chris, brother Skip, wife Hannah and children Betty, Daisy and Lola.
It was a 250th game to remember, too, as the Bulldogs came from behind in the second half to record an 8.4 (52) to 5.10 (40) victory over Barooga at Strathmerton Recreation Reserve to honour Shannon in the best way possible.
It looked dire early as the Bulldogs failed to score in the opening term and trailed by 14 points at the first break, and while they managed to hit the scoreboard with 3.1 in the second term, the Hawks managed to edge even further ahead, kicking 3.2 of their own to lead 34 to 19 at half time.
Matt Shannon and coach Tim Bramich ahead of his 250th senior game.
But with the milestone man front of mind, the Bulldogs roared to life in the third term, kicking three majors while keeping the visitors goalless to clinch the lead by a slender margin of three points at the final change.
Another two goals in the final term while restricting Barooga to four behinds capped off a memorable win for Shannon in his milestone game, with the man himself named second best on ground in the victory.
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