Western Bulldogs head coach Nathan Burke has praised his second and third-year players for their impact against GWS.

The Bulldogs held off a persistent Giants outfit in round one at IKON Park on Sunday, recording a narrow seven-point win to start their new campaign.

“They made us work for it, but we knew they would” Burke told media post-match.

“They’re a fit team, and just kept surging and surging. I was very happy when that siren went at the end.

“Jess Fitzgerald was really good today, Issy Pritchard in her third season was really good too – down back you’ve got Sarah Hartwig and Issy Grant- it’s that level of second or third-year players that have really lifted.

“It’s not necessarily the Naomi Ferres’ and Bailey Hunts – they’ve always (stepped up where needed) – it’s the players in their second and third seasons that are making the big difference.”

Burke said he had no concerns about who the program had lost over the 2022 Sign and Trade period.

“We’ve lost 190 games worth of experience through the players that have left, including four members of our leadership group, but the way the younger players and the senior players have just gelled this group together – they’re just so determined that none of this expansion (has fazed them),” he said.

“We want to be better, and we should be better than what we were last year.”

The Bulldogs will travel to South Australia this weekend to take on Port Adelaide at Alberton Oval.