When it comes to identifying what a model club is in this age of equalisation, drafting and trades, many in the AFL industry point to Hawthorn, Sydney, Geelong and even Collingwood.

The Hawks are a power on and off the field, the Swans have missed the finals only once since 2003, enjoying two flags and again being in contention this year, the Cats have rebuilt on the run and landed the game's best player, while the Pies, having broken through in 2010, boast the resources and cash but their football program is currently a bit of a mess.

But here's a thought. For a club that traditionally has struggled for coin, and has been given administrative help from the Pies, have the Western Bulldogs quietly become model AFL citizens when it comes to rejuvenation on the field?

The Dogs made three-straight preliminary finals from 2008 under former coach Rodney Eade, a team led by Brad Johnson and featuring much of the talent ushered through during the Terry Wallace era. It was widely felt they lacked a key power forward needed to climb football's Everest, although they procured an ageing Barry Hall in 2010. But come 2011 they were realistic enough to know it was time to strip back and largely rebuild through the draft.

There was a change of coach in 2011 when Eade left, and a change in philosophy. Where the Dogs had been run and gun under Eade, Brendan McCartney's philosophy was about teaching and winning the contested ball. Or, as Luke Beveridge likes to say now, winning the ball "at the source".

Admittedly, McCartney's three years weren't an entirely happy time, and the frustration over a lack of development - finishing 15th, 15th and 14th - spilled over after an end-of-season loss to Greater Western Sydney at Etihad Stadium. How times change.

Skipper Ryan Griffen wanted out, the players' support for McCartney was lost, and president Peter Gordon acted swiftly. The subsequent appointment of Beveridge has been nothing short of a masterstroke, and he guided the Dogs - after the groundwork laid by McCartney - back into September action last year.

Despite that turmoil in late 2014, and the departure of two chief executives since, the Dogs took only five years to return to the finals, and another year to bounce into a preliminary final. Not only do they have a legitimate shot at the flag this year, it's unlikely they will be a one-hit wonder – their age demographic suggests there are many good seasons ahead.

That's almost the model rebuild. Traditional heavyweights, as they were in the 1980s and '90s, Essendon, Carlton and Richmond are no closer to even making the finals than the Dogs are to a premiership. The Blues' last appeared in a preliminary final in 2000. For the Tigers and Bombers, it was 2001. The Pies have now gone three seasons without finals under their latest rebuild, while the Demons haven't been seen in September since 2006.

The Dogs' recruiting under list manager Jason McCartney and recruiting manager Simon Dalrymple has been superb. "They don't get the credit that others in the bigger clubs get," said one rival club official.

They took Liam Picken when the Magpies opted to overlook the father-son prospect. They also took Josh Dunkley when the Swans overlooked their father-son prospect. They lost Callan Ward, their best young player at the time, and future captain, to the riches on offer from the expansion Giants in 2011 but would ultimately rebound in the 2012 draft.

Consider this - Jake Stringer (pick five overall), Jack Macrae (six), Nathan Hrovat (21), Lachie Hunter (49 father-son), Tom Campbell (98 rookie elevation) and Jason Johannisen (105 rookie elevation). Marcus Bontempelli would come a year later with pick four, in the same draft when the Giants took Tom Boyd, now a Bulldog, and Josh Kelly, and the Saints snared Jack Billings.

And last year they did something that the Swans and Hawks have done so well - targeting a player, in this case Matthew Suckling, for his kicking skills in defence.

The depth they have has been highlighted in a season when injuries, including the long-term absence of skipper Bob Murphy, could easily have derailed their campaign.

In selecting a coach with a fine pedigree, and adopting a clear list-management rebuild, the patience football director Chris Grant preached three years ago to Fairfax Media has made the Dogs the model AFL citizens.