IT TOOK until October for Oakleigh Chargers midfielder Lin Jong to land on the Western Bulldogs' radar, but once he was there, they were determined he wasn't going anywhere but Whitten Oval. 

The 18-year-old former basketballer has just a few years of Australian Rules experience and played in his first season of the TAC Cup in 2011 after being recruited from Mulgrave.

According to Bulldogs' recruiting manager Simon Dalrymple, he improved as the year went on but it wasn't until they started to analyse footage of his efforts when the season was over that he really began to stand out.

Once Jong forced the Dogs to take notice of his elite athleticism, including his impressive vertical leap and speed, they knew they wanted him and they used their first selection in Tuesday's NAB AFL Rookie Draft (No.9 overall) to ensure he didn't end up anywhere else.

"It was probably more in the back end of the year [he came onto the radar]. His athletic traits really stood out," Dalrymple told AFL.com.au on Tuesday.

"It was October/November when you're going through the vision, and Brendan McCartney liked the idea of us getting a taller mid so that became a priority.

"He can also win his own ball and we just thought he was the best available.

"We were really keen to get him. We knew he had some interest from other clubs and we weren't willing to risk losing him.

"We're really excited about getting him."

Jong was born in Australia, has four older sisters and lives in Wheelers Hill, and his parents are from Taiwan and East Timor.

He improved this season as a result of a step up in professionalism when he crossed to the Chargers, and thrived as a result in the TAC Cup competition.

Now, the Bulldogs are keen to see just where he can get to when in a full-time football environment where they can help him work on his two main deficiencies - game sense and kicking.

"He's still got plenty to learn about the game but we did a lot of homework on his character and his learning ability and we think he's got the right traits," Dalrymple said.

"Given he's only played footy since under-16s, we think there's potential for him to learn and he's got to improve his kicking but we think in the full-time system, that can be addressed to get him to AFL level.

"He's got elite speed, agility and vertical leap, and we were just looking for a taller midfielder who could win his own ball and his tackling is really good as well as his hands in contested situations."

The Bulldogs had a busy day on Tuesday, recruiting Sandringham Dragons key forward Fletcher Roberts with the selection they had in the NAB AFL Pre-season Draft to fill the senior spot vacated by Jayden Schofield.

Then, after picking up Jong, they went for Bendigo Bombers ruckman Tom Campbell, Eastern Ranges midfielder Alex Greenwood, Kyneton forward Jack Redpath, who has also recently played for Bendigo, and former Carlton defender Mark Austin.

Redpath shot onto the Dogs' radar as a result of assistant coach Shannon Grant's previous role as coach of Bendigo, as did Campbell and last month's recruit of Tory Dickson.

Dalrymple said all of the rookies secured on Tuesday fit the club's requirement attitude-wise; in particular, Redpath.

"His character and attitude was outstanding," he said.

"He's a carpenter by trade, loves hard work and we think he'll give himself every chance.

"He's 21 today so this is probably the best present he's got so far."

 The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs