MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 17: Footscray Supporter and Owner of the The Plough Hotel, Tony Adamo on September 17, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Luis Ascui/Fairfax Media) Credit:Luis Ascui The long-time member said his wife, two daughters, his brother and his niece would hope for the best when ticket sales open for members on Monday. The clash between Greater Western Sydney and the Dogs was contentiously scheduled for Spotless Stadium despite the ground holding just 24,000 - making it comfortably the smallest capacity venue of any ground to host a preliminary final. The league's rationale was that given GWS have fewer than 16,000 members, and based on historical data about travelling fans, that few if any supporters were likely to miss out should they wish to attend. The AFL has used information from the last 20 years to determine that no more than 8000 fans are likely to travel from the state of the away team for an interstate preliminary final. While both GWS and Bulldogs members will have simultaneous access to tickets on Monday, more tickets will be made available to the home-town Giants than to the visiting Bulldogs in accordance with convention. However the league will monitor ticket sales during the first two or three hours of the day to determine if expectations are being met. An AFL spokesman said on Saturday that the league would consider changing the respective teams' allocations if the demand of Giants members failed to meet predictions, or the demands of Bulldogs members was greater than tipped.

The decision to put the game at the Giants' home ground - rather than the larger SCG or ANZ Stadium - raised questions about fairness given the Bulldogs were last year denied a home elimination final against Adelaide at Etihad Stadium - with the game played at the MCG instead. A crowd of 87,823 descended on the MCG on Friday night to watch the Dogs' win over Hawthorn. It was the third-biggest crowd in Bulldogs history and raised the prospect that some fans would be disappointed next week. Gordon thought that was unlikely, but said given the momentum surrounding his club, anything was possible. "The sales experience tells us that it's unlikely to be a major issue, in that I don't think you ever get more than 10 or 12,000 members that travel interstate," Gordon told ABC radio on Saturday. "But of course we're making a bit of history here, so it's possible that there are going to be many more than the 12 of the 40,000 Bulldogs members that we've got that are prepared to do it.

"We certainly want to create as big a problem for the AFL as we can in terms of accommodating our members. "Our aim is to have the majority of that stadium decked out and roaring for the red, white and blue." Judging by the buzz in Dogs' heartland on Saturday, Gordon might just get his wish. Bulldogs cheer squad coordinator Linda Murray said the group was looking to send six or seven buses up to western Sydney for next week's game. "My phone has been running hot all morning about what options there are for the cheer squad," she said. "Everyone's on a high that we've come this far and knocked over the 2015 premiers, we're just buzzing."

The club's mischievous banner writer, comedian Danny McGinlay said he was unable to make it to Sydney for the game, but would be screaming at the television in Melbourne. His wife is expecting to give birth to their second child "any day now". "If my daughter does come on grand final day we'll have to call her Bontempelli," he said with a laugh, making reference to star Dog Marcus Bontempelli. McGinlay said he was unable to get to sleep after returning home late from post-game celebrations. "The mood is just joyous," he said. "I think this playing group has such great self-belief. The lads dug deep, it's just so exciting."

He said brainstorming for next week's banner began over a few beers after the game. Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge had earlier weighed into the debate about the ticketing furore. "I'd imagine there'd be quite a few Bulldogs fans and people that'd want to go," Beveridge said after his side's win. "It's probably not right to get involved in this debate. "What I'd like to happen is at least let 12,000 of our people in and 12,000 of them."

Beveridge however acknowledged that the Giants deserved the right to host the game. "But they've earnt the right. They've finished in the top four." The Bulldogs have only qualified for the grand final twice, and not since 1961. They have lost seven consecutive preliminary finals, with narrow defeats to Adelaide in 1997 and St Kilda in 2009 especially painful.