Prized draftee Aaron Naughton has impressed everyone at the Western Bulldogs this pre-season with his ability to match it with more seasoned teammates, says AFLX coach Rohan Smith.
Taken with pick No.9 in November's NAB AFL Draft, the 195cm West Australian has held his own in match simulation, with his athleticism, footy smarts and appetite for the contest catching the eye of the coaches.
The Bulldogs faithful will get their first chance to see the 18-year-old when he lines up in Saturday night's AFLX hit-outs against Sydney and Brisbane.
The 2017 under-18 All Australian has already tested himself against grown men after several starring performances for Peel Thunder in the WAFL last year.
"He's a competitive bugger, he's really strong in the contest, strong overhead and uses the ball really well," Smith said on Friday.
"He's missed a little bit of training because we didn't want to expose him too much to the rigours of AFL (football), so the first-year players have been eased into training,
"But the way he's come into training the last few weeks in match simulation, it's been exciting for him.
"He's been exciting for us."
