A former Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs prop is up for his very own Logie Award, with voting now open.
Dennis Scott, Bulldogs #631, played for the Bulldogs between 1999 and 2004 featuring as a regular member of the NRL squad and making a number of finals appearances for the Club.
While he didn't feature in the club's 2004 Premiership winning side due to injury, his post footy career has been one of great achievement and one that has led him all the way to the 2023 Australian Logie Awards.
From the field to the Logies, Dennis is now the host of Foxtel's popular lifestyle program, Selling Houses Australia and is calling on his Bulldogs family to help support his teams nomination.
FROM THE FIELD TO THE LOGIES: DENNIS SCOTT'S PHENOMENAL CAREER STORY
Dennis grew up in McAllister, Central QLD and didn't play rugby league until he was 13-years-old. The nearest town for him to play football was over an hour away, and to get to training and back was really difficult.
He began playing through school, starting his career as a five-eighth before moving to an outside centre position and being picked up by the [nearest] local club, who offered him $10 a game to play.
He was quickly impressing with his natural ability and was picked up on scholarship for a Mackay school before being scouted by a Brisbane talent agent and offered a spot in their pathways programs. He left home at the mere age of 15 to pursue the opportunity of a career in rugby league, finding himself at the Broncos by age 17.
The talented youngster played in the Brisbane pathways for five years, making his debut with the Broncos in 1996 and going on to play eight years for the club between 1996 to 1998 as a prop forward. The Broncos were a top-of-the-table side during this period and the club had a number of more senior players who were taking the field ahead of Dennis. At the beginning of the '99 season, Wayne Bennett suggested he continue to develop his craft and pursue another opportunity with Bob Hagan (Bulldogs former CEO) and Canterbury.
Within 24 hours, the country boy was relocating to Belmore to join then coach Steve Folkes and his Bulldogs squad. He left the 1998 grand-final winning side in the Broncos, to join the grand-finalist opponents and runners up, the Bulldogs, and wasn't expecting to play much NRL in his first season in the blue and white.
But he was welcomed to the family club with open arms.
"The Bulldogs have always held the mantle of being the family club and from my six-year experience I would never disagree. My time at this great club was every superlative available to describe it. Once a Bulldog you will always be a Bulldog," he said.
"Growing up on a cattle property in Central Queensland, I was a long shot at making the NRL but with hard work I managed to eke out some very proud moments, until injury forced my retirement in 2005."
Dennis was one of the few new recuits who joined the Club in 1999, alongside internationals, Brad Clyde, Ricky Stuart and Darren Smith, and fellow Brisbane-based Justin Murphy.
Dennis made his debut for the Bulldogs in reserve grade under coach and Bulldogs legend, Terry Lamb that year at Stadium Australia, proudly scoring the Club's first try of the 1999 season.
His NRL Bulldogs debut came against the Sydney Roosters at Sydney Football Stadium later that year (Round 8) when Robert Relf was relegated. He became a regular of the NRL team mid season, before Troy Stone entered the starting line.
In 1999, Dennis played the reserve grade semi final against Canberra. In 2001, he played a number of games across both the reserve grade and NRL, and played in the NRL semi final against Cronulla.
Come 2002, he was again relegated for Steve Price but played in the Reserve Grade Premiership winning team against St George Illawarra as a second row forward.
He maintained his NRL position for 2003, where the side played in the preliminary final against the Roosters.
In 2004, Dennis was nominated for the Berries to Bulldogs 70 Year Team of Champions. Unfortunately that same year, he would endure a season-ending knee injury which ruled him out of the 16-13 Premiership win over the Roosters.
BERRIES TO BULLDOGS 70 YEAR TRIBUTE
In 2005, he joined Melbourne to play 19 games between 2005 and 2006 before retiring at the end of 2006 due to a back injury.
After Dennis retired from Rugby League, he completed a mature-age apprenticeship in carpentry. Already a qualified mechanic and now with his additional qualifications, he entered the landscaping industry, starting out his own company, 'Lush Landscape Solutions'.
"Again through hard work I started my own business and this has been growing successfully for the past nine years and it has lead me to one of the hardest challenges I have faced, being a television host, not just a host on an average show but on one of Foxtels most popular shows - Selling Houses Australia," Dennis said.
Ever the outdoorsman, from a young kid helping his grandparents in the garden to a successful business owner, he was selected in 2001 as the Selling Houses Australia host and designer of landscapes.
Dennis joined the Foxtel lifestyle television program in 2002, replacing Charlie Albone, the long-time garden guru on the property program, for the show's first season after a two-year absence.
He was welcomed to the program by Gold Logie-nominated presenter Andrew Winter and their LifeStyle Channel boss and former House Rules judge, Wendy Moore.
Now, several seasons later, the show has been nominated for the 'Most Popular Lifestyle Program' at this year's TV Week Logies.
"I would love to get the support of all Bulldogs fans, members and staff by voting for us," Dennis said.
"With the club in a building phase, this could be another avenue to be winners in a different right."
You can support the Bulldogs alumni and his Selling Houses Australia crew by voting for the program, here.
This years' TV Week Logie Awards are scheduled to take place on July, 30 2023 coinciding with the Club's clash with the Dolphins at Salter Oval, Bundaberg.
