At the end of their 2020 season, the Western Bulldogs delisted 2018 leading goalkicker Billy Gowers and 2016 draftees Fergus Greene and Brad Lynch.
[3] Veterans Jackson Trengove and Matthew Suckling, as well as 2017 draftee Callum Porter, were delisted after the trade period.
[10] The fixture for the 2021 season was revealed in December 2020, with each team scheduled to play 22 matches and have a mid-season bye, as was normal prior to COVID-19.
Round 4 saw the club continue their undefeated streak, after they beat 2020 preliminary finalists Brisbane Lions by 19 points on a windy day at Mars Stadium in Ballarat.
[32] Ruckman turned forward Tim English, new recruit Adam Treloar and the ever-consistent Jack Macrae were named as the team's best on ground after they collected a combined 78 disposals and 4 goals.
[33] The Bulldogs went undefeated for the first five games in a season for the first time since 1946 as they beat Gold Coast by 62 points in a fierce display at Marvel Stadium, scoring 11 goals to 1 in the opening half as 150 gamer Marcus Bontempelli led the way.
[34][35][16] Their undefeated streak continued the following week as the Bulldogs pulled away in a back and forward slog against Greater Western Sydney to claim the victory by 39 points.
[40][41] After being down 27 points at one stage in the third quarter, the Bulldogs grinded out a win against Carlton in Round 8, with Bruce and Bontempelli among the best performers for that game after collecting 32 disposals and 5 goals, respectively.
[52] The game was played without crowds due to the impact of the pandemic lockdown occurring in Victoria that week.
[53][54] The team secured another win against Fremantle at Perth Stadium in Round 12, running out 28-point victors after some inaccurate kicking at goal.