AFLW star Ellie Blackburn can't hide her emotion at being named one of the Western Bulldogs' greatest players of the last century.
An elite group of 25 - featuring the likes of Ted Whitten, Doug Hawkins and modern champion Marcus Bontempelli - was honoured as part of the club's AFL/VFL centenary celebrations.
A three-time All-Australian, five-time best-and-fairest winner and 2018 premiership captain, Blackburn was the only female player on the list.
"It's pretty incredible to be acknowledged and recognised amongst the club's history in that form," Blackburn said.
"I'm so proud to be in that position and really humbled by it.
"It was one of those moments that I didn't expect to happen and caught me off guard a little bit.
"But I've been quite emotional thinking about it and what it means to me and my loved ones as well. It's really special."
Blackburn, 30, has recovered after missing most of last season with a foot injury and will be key to the Bulldogs' finals chances in 2025.
"It was challenging in a different way, missing games for the first time in my career," Blackburn said.
"To be back and ready to be playing footy, I'm just looking forward to getting out there in round one. It will be lots of fun.
"You won't be able to wipe the smile off my face running out again."
Melbourne visit the Bulldogs at Whitten Oval on August 16 in the two teams' season opener.
The league's oldest rivalry - forged between the clubs with a series of exhibition matches before AFLW's 2017 inception - is back after a year off, after the fixture list didn't pit the two clubs against each other in 2024.
Blackburn called on league officials to make the Hampson-Hardeman Cup fixture an annual event.
"I'm very pleased it's back. It's part of women's footy," Blackburn said.
"It's a long-standing tradition now between our two football clubs and two teams that really invested in women's footy right from the get-go.
"It's one of those games that we do love having and I don't think necessarily just for our two teams and our clubs - it's for footy fans and women's footy fans in general.
"It holds a special place for all of us."
