The Western Bulldogs AFLW side enjoyed their first hit-out of 2019 on Saturday afternoon, taking on Collingwood in a practice match at MARS Stadium in Ballarat.

With plenty of new faces running out in the red, white and blue, AFLW Coach Paul Groves said that he was pleased with the efforts of the Club’s newest recruits.

“We’re really pleased from the completion of the game, we had a lot of young girls – the first-year players at our footy Club – step up and really contribute so we’re really happy with that,” Groves told westernbulldogs.com.au

“Eleanor Brown stepped up and played on the wing, she probably played on the side of the ground where the footy wasn’t for a majority of the game, her defensive acts are her main attribute that she brings so we were really happy with that.

“Belinda Smith playing that high half-forward role, she’s really grown, and we think she’ll be a really important contributor this season.”

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After an injury scare during pre-season training prior to the Christmas break, Isabel Huntington looks likely to endure a later start to the 2019 AFLW season.

“Izzy did shake her joint up a little bit, so she’s going to be a few weeks delayed to what we were initially thinking of potentially Round One,” Groves said.

“We’re not sure yet of how many weeks she’ll be delayed, it’s really up to how she pulls up with her knee over the next couple of weeks.”

The Western Bulldogs will head to Adelaide to take on the Adelaide Crows at Norwood Oval on Saturday 2^nd February for their first match of the 2019 AFL Women’s season.