VFL.com.au talks to Footscray coach Steve Grace ahead of Saturday’s season opener against Sandringham at Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

2017 FINISH: 6th (11-9)
2017 BEST AND FAIREST: 1. Nick Jamieson / 2. Will Hayes / 3. Jordan Russell
2017 TEAM OF THE YEAR: Nick Jamieson
2017 DRAFTEES: Billy Gowers (rookie pick no.9 to Western Bulldogs)
2018 SEASON START: vs Sandringham (Saturday April 7) / vs Coburg (Saturday April 14) / vs Geelong (Saturday April 21)

Click here to see the full 2018 fixture

KEY DEPARTURES

Jordan Russell (77 games for club from 2014-17, club captain from 2015-17): “Jordan will clearly be missed as he transitions into his life as a development coach with the Western Bulldogs.”

Anthony Barry (35 games for club from 2014-17): “Anthony has retired as well. He was a long-serving defender and has become a part-time coach at the club as well as a runner.”

Nick Jamieson (59 games for club from 2014-17): “We will miss Nick, who has branched out into the world of stockbroking. His job demands haven’t enabled him to fulfil football commitments at VFL level.”

KEY RECRUITS

Angus Monfries (from Port Adelaide AFL): “Angus has 211 games of AFL experience over 13 seasons (also with Essendon). He’s had his first full pre-season in a few years and we’ve had to hold him back. He’ll play as a forward and sometimes on the wing, and will be able to coach our young players out on the ground.”

Josh Prudden (Western Bulldogs AFL): “Josh has had some injuries over the years and we’re looking to help him transition to his post-AFL life. He had a shoulder reconstruction at the end of last season so we may not see him early on. He’s a tough midfielder/half back who’s a strong leader as well.”

Reuben William (Brisbane AFL): “Reuben played three AFL games (in 2016-17) and is a quick and athletic running defender. He’s an upstanding member of the Sudanese community and is also doing some part-time work in the community with the Bulldogs.”

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PRE-SEASON PERFORMERS

Lauchlan Dalgleish: “We’re hoping Lauchlan takes another step with his footy this year. We know his speed and ball use is at an AFL level but he just needs to breach the consistency gap. His pre-season has been super and he’s grown with his leadership.”

Lachlan Sullivan: “Lachlan is a smart midfielder/forward who won St Kevin’s’ best-and-fairest in the VAFA last year. He’s been impressive over the pre-season and has done well in our practice games thus far.”

LEADERSHIP MATERIAL

“We’ll announce the leadership group soon, but some of the players that would be in the mix are Angus Monfries, Josh Prudden, Will Hayes, Lauchlan Dalgleish, Liam Nash and Matt Goodyear.”

BEST-AND-FAIREST CHANCES

“If we’re going to be a good side then our leaders will need to stand up and finish high in our best-and-fairest, like Angus Monfries and Josh Prudden. If we also get some growth from some of the younger players like Will Hayes – who finished second last year – and Liam Nash, we’ll be a very good side.”

BREAK-OUT CANDIDATE

Andrew Tashevski-Beckwith: “We hope Andrew will have a break-out year and he’s more than capable of doing that. The great thing about our young midfielders like Andrew is that they’re hardened players who can have a strong impact on this competition.”

WHAT TO EXPECT

“The template will be strong, aggressive football unified with a full 18-man defence and you’ll still see the Bulldogs’ strong brand of taking the game on in a fast, aggressive manner. Our VFL squad is a very small one due to the Bulldogs’ AFL list having so many talls at both ends of the ground; we have only two players over 193cm, in Josh Patullo and Lachlan Smith.”

ASSISTANT COACHING PANEL

Backs assistant coach: Jordan Russell (retained from 2017 – see above)
Midfield assistant coach: Stewart Edge (retained from 2017)
Forwards assistant coach: Angus Monfries (first-time coach – see above)
Assistant coach: Paul Groves (also Western Bulldogs AFL Women’s senior coach)
Development coach: Anthony Barry (first-time coach – see above)
Development coach: Steve Mead (retained from 2017)Game-day assistant coach: Rohan Smith (also Western Bulldogs AFL Development Manager)