The Western Bulldogs will descend on Ballarat over the next three days for the 2018 Community Camp, before they host Hawthorn in the JLT Community Series opener on Saturday afternoon.

It’ll be the Bulldogs’ second game at the revamped Mars Stadium ahead of fixtures against Gold Coast (Round 7) and Port Adelaide (Round 19).

But it’ll be about more than football over the next 72 hours as players visit schools, junior clubs, youth centres and supporters groups in Ballarat, and Hamilton, a further two hours west.