Western Bulldogs assistant coach Daniel Giansiracusa said that he expects a young Bulldogs side to run out on Sunday against Melbourne for the Club’s second NAB Challenge fixture in Craigieburn.

The Dogs sent an experienced side to Canberra to take on the Giants last Thursday, running out 31-point winners, but will look to provide opportunities to some younger players to make stake their claim ahead of round one on March 27.

“Our plan was to play a more experienced side in the first one and the last, and we’ll blood a bit more youth in the second round of the NAB Challenge,” Giansiracusa told BulldogsTV.

“You [also] want to try guys in different spots … it’s about giving as many guys on your list an opportunity to see how they go at that higher level and see how they progress throughout the season.”

Giansiracusa said that while the NAB Challenge provided the coaching group with the opportunity to try a few things, the health of the players is paramount.

“[We want] to get minutes into players and to try and stay as healthy as possible,” he said.

“Minutes we can control but the healthy list is just something that comes out of footy, even at training. 

“In saying that, we’re in good health and we look forward to a strong contest against Melbourne on Sunday.”

While Bulldogs fans can expect to see some fresh faces out on the park this weekend, Giansiracusa said that he still expects the team to be highly competitive as the fight for a round one spots continues ahead of the Easter Weekend clash with the Dockers in just under four weeks’ time.

“Round one is always the most intense game except for finals for the year - everyone’s pretty fresh and eager to get amongst it - so we’ve got to make sure our boys are ready and we’ll do that over the next couple of weeks.”