Revisit the draft years that brought in the current crop of Bulldogs players, continuing with the year 2012.
JAKE STRINGER
Stringer joined the Bulldogs via pick five in the 2012 draft, recruited from Bendigo U18s.
The power forward showed promising signs as a junior across both the forward and midfield lines.
Stringer made his AFL debut in round four 2013 against Adelaide, has played 50 games and was named in the All-Australian side in 2015 in only his third year of senior football.
JACK MACRAE
Macrae was taken one pick after Stringer, at number six in the 2012 draft, recruited from the Oakleigh Chargers.
He made his debut alongside Stringer in round four 2013 and has gone on to play 55 games in three seasons.
The crafty outside midfielder, that has developed an inside edge since arriving at the Kennel, was named Best First Year Player in 2013 and was runner up in the Club’s best and fairest in 2014.
NATHAN HROVAT
Another first round selection, Hrovat was taken with pick number 21 in the 2012 draft from the Northern Knights.
Hrovat made his debut in round nine 2013 against St Kilda, playing 26 games in his first three seasons.
An undeniable talent, Hrovat was one of several unlucky players to miss out on senior selection late in 2015 despite solid VFL form.
LACHIE HUNTER
The son of former Bulldog Mark, who played 130 games for the Club from 1988-1996, Hunter was recruited with pick number 49 as a father/son selection.
The talented Western Jets junior has spent time across both the forward and midfield in his first three years.
Hunter took the next step in the latter stages of 2015, playing career-best football from rounds 15 onwards.
JOSH PRUDDEN
The Club’s final selection in the 2012 national draft, Prudden was taken with pick number 50.
The Murray Bushrangers junior is a tireless midfielder/defender who was rewarded with his AFL debut in round 15 2015 against the Gold Coast Suns.
Simon Dalrymple (Western Bulldogs Recruiting Manager) on the 2012 draft
“Everyone develops at different rates. Jake was a bold selection, we’d done a lot of homework. I don’t think any Club would have done the in-depth analysis that we had done, so it’s not a surprise to see what he’s doing now. It’s probably come a little bit earlier than what we would have though. But the way he’s playing was very similar to how he played as a 16-year-old and early in his 17th year, just the dynamic, the power, the ability to create something out of nothing. It was a selection with some risk attached because of his body, but our view was always to look long term, we analyse the risk and reward and we’re not afraid to make a bold call if the fundamentals are right.
“Jacko’s a guy that’s just going to keep fronting up every week and his decision making is his star attribute, and we see that getting better as he gets fitter.
"The other boys have all shown some promise with Josh getting a taste of it, it’s going to take some time to get his body right but you wouldn’t meet a better young fella and he’s got a great attitude, and if he can get his body right, which there was significant improvement this year, we think he could play midfield, back, in that sort of Matthew Boyd role for a long period of time.”
2012 recruits
National Draft
Pick 5: Jake Stringer (50)
Pick 6: Jack Macrae (55)
Pick 21: Nathan Hrovat (26)
Pick 49: Lachie Hunter* (36)
Pick 50: Josh Prudden (4)
Rookie Draft
Pick 4: Brett Goodes (22)
*Father/Son selection
