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Grand Final Fever: Western Bulldogs Fans Celebrate At Whitten Oval

Attention now turns to the NRL Grand Final between Cronulla and Melbourne.
Whitten Oval is full of Western Bulldogs fans celebrating their team's AFL premiership win.
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Whitten Oval is full of Western Bulldogs fans celebrating their team's AFL premiership win.

Thousands of emotional Western Bulldogs fans have descended on Whitten Oval to celebrate the club's historic AFL premiership win.

The football club, which hadn't won a flag for 62 years, beat the Sydney Swans by 22 points in Saturday's grand final at the MCG.

Players presented the premiership trophy to the fans at the club's spiritual home this afternoon.

Fans dressed in club colours of red, white and blue queued up outside the oval early this morning ahead of the event, which kicked off at 11am.

The supporters' day follows last night's celebrations, which saw Footscray's Barkly Street packed with fans belting out the club song Sons of the West. Police shut down a number of streets in the area as premiership-starved Dogs fans partied in the wake of the momentous victory.

In winning yesterday's grand final, the Dogs -- who finished seventh in the regular season -- became the first team from the bottom two positions of the final eight to take the flag. The full match report can be read here.

Meanwhile, the beaten Swans are due back in Sydney today and have cancelled their planned supporters' day. "The SCG Welcome Home Event will NOT go ahead on Sunday," the club said on its website.

Attention now turns to Sunday night's NRL grand final between another sentimental favourite, the Cronulla Sharks, and the Melbourne Storm.

Cronulla haven't won a title since entering the comp in 1967 and booked their spot in this year's decider by overcoming last year's premiers, the North Queensland Cowboys, in a dominant performance.

Since that victory, excitement levels on the Sharks' home turf in the Sutherland Shire have been at an all-time high with houses, cars and shopfronts all decorated in the team's black, white and blue colours.

With more than 3,500 fans expected to pack the Cronulla Leagues Club, Club CEO Marcelo Veloz even managed to convert the club's carpark into a makeshift beach for fans to celebrate the occasion.

Now complete with a mini footy field! #upupcronulla #finsup #nswrlgf ##wearesharks #sharkshouse

A photo posted by Beck Kiellor (@beckkiellor) on

On the opposition side, Melbourne are looking to seal their first premiership since 2012. They are the most consistently successful side in the league, and are backed by equally committed fans.

The NRL grand final kicks off at ANZ Stadium on Sunday at 7:15PM AEST.

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