The new 'Doc' on the block was clinical in Thursday night's AAMI Community Series game against Hawthorn. 

Holding his wing well across the night, Sam Davidson finished the night with an impressive 29 disposals, a game high 617 metres gained and one goal in the team's 11-point win.

Taken by the Club with Pick 51 in the 2024 Telstra AFL Draft, Davidson has caught the eyes of the red, white and blue faithful in his first pre-season at the Kennel. 

Speaking following the game, the 22 year old was spoke excitedly after gaining another opportunity to pull on the jumper and get a taste of football at the senior level.

"It was awesome," Davidson said

"It was sort fo the first proper hit out in the red, white and blue. 

"It was lucky that I could get on the end of a bit of good work from a few of the boys.

“I loved it out there.”

Davidson impressed Dogs' selectors playing with Richmond VFL in 2024 kicking 26 goals from his 17 state league outings to finish as the team's leading goalkicker at season's end and the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell medal as the league's most promising player.

His athleticism and two-way-running were two of the key attributes which caught the attention of the Western Bulldogs' recruiting team and an asset that was on display during Thursday night's game. 

Davidson held his own on the wing playing a vital role in the team's ability to transition into attack, while also running defensively to help counteract the Hawks' aggressive attack. 

The Dogs' worked collectively to restrict the Hawks to just 41 inside-50 entries, with the rebound pressure from the likes of Joel Freijah, Tom Liberatore and Bailey Williams showing the pre-season focus on transition coming to life. 

“We’ve been working really hard to get the whole team: the backs, the mids, the forwards, getting down and kicking goals," Davidson said

“It was awesome to see a few of the young lads in Josh Dolan and Jordan Croft having some really good moments and playing a really good game.

“It’s really nice to have a number of people get on the end of some really good work from the team.”

With the pre-season now officially over the Dogs, all attention turns to the Round 1 game against the Kangaroos. 

While, for many, the young Dog would be all but a lock to make his debut, Davidson wants to still work closely with the coaches to ensure no stone is left unturned ahead of his first AFL season. 

“I touched base with the coaches after the game and they’ve been really good at letting me know what to work on in the pre-season," he said

“Obviously, my first AFL pre-season, so I’m just wrapping my head around everything and trying to do best by the team.

“I’ll touch base with the coaches during the week and hopefully I can put my hand up for selection and we’ll see what happens."