Jack Macrae saw something to aspire to when the Bulldogs faced Fremantle in round 11, holding great respect for not only their relentless pressure but the trust in each other to play a role for the team.

Macrae said earning the trust of his teammates has helped him gain more confidence out on the ground — demonstrated by his breakout season this year.

“In my first year a lot of the coaches told me to take the first option and I’ll start finding the pace of the game and getting more comfortable and then not worrying about making certain mistakes,” Macrae told Crocmedia on Thursday.  

“Coming to my second year it’s been a big growth in confidence in myself and the team’s ability to trust me to take the game on and we’ll live with the consequences.”

Drawing on the knowledge of Senior Coach Brendan McCartney, Assistant Coach Steven King and Development Coach Joel Corey, Macrae has appreciated the direct feedback and encouragement they have given him.

“I’ve been really grateful to Macca and Joel Corey and Kingy to instil that confidence in me and it is starting to show,” he said.

“Just a lot of honest feedback and conversations about where they want me to become and what I need to improve on and get better at so those two have been great for me.”

The 19-year-old doesn’t have to look far in the midfield to find an onfield mentor, with the ambitious youngster looking to emulate Captain Ryan Griffen’s style of play.

“A peer at the footy club that I really look up to is Ryan Griffen, obviously he had an amazing season last year,” he said.

“Just his two way running and how he competes and how versatile he is – that’s someone that I look up to and hopefully can be like.”

The Bulldogs face the formidable task of playing Port Adelaide on Saturday but Macrae is confident his side can carry their strong form from round 13 into the match at Adelaide Oval.

“This week we obviously have Port Adelaide who are flying at the moment so It’s going to be a great test to go up against top of the table team,” he said.

“Hopefully we can stick to our guns and play the sort of brand of footy that we did on the weekend and who knows what we can get up in Adelaide.”