Bulldogs’ first-year defender Aaron Naughton underlined his standing debut season by clearly leading the Club’s contested mark category in 2018.

Naughton took 27 contested marks in his first season of senior football, averaging 1.5 per game.

The 18-year-old Western Australian took to the task of playing on some of the game’s best key forwards this year, spending time on Lance Franklin, Jack Riewoldt, Ben Brown and Jeremy Cameron.

His best display was against Richmond in round 20, when he took five contested marks.

Naughton proved a more than handy partner in the back-half alongside the ever-reliable Zaine Cordy (18) and Easton Wood (14).

The Club’s overall marks tally belonged to midfielders, with Lachie Hunter (117), Jack Macrae (110) and Josh Dunkley (93) proving their worth as excellent link players throughout 2018.