Luke Beveridge calls him ‘The Specimen’, and now Marcus Adams has a number to go with the nickname, the West Australian being awarded number 33 this week.

It was just 10 days ago that the 193cm, 95kg defender was sitting at home on the couch with his Mum and Dad in Perth waiting to hear his name called out on draft night, and now he is a Western Bulldog living in Melbourne.

Most of the new draftees across the AFL could relate to Adams’ description of his time at his new club as a ‘whirlwind’, but only a handful are as far away from home as the West Perth product.

“[I’m] probably not settled in as such just yet.  I haven’t got my car or my full time living arrangements sorted yet, but once I get all of those sort of things it will make it feel a little bit more homely.

“Whether it will ever feel like home, I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to a long time here hopefully.”

If the scouting reports on Adams are right, he may well be at the kennel for a while yet.  The 22 year old had a standout year in the WAFL in 2015, his combination of speed and power allowing him to cover opponents of all shapes and sizes.

Paired with that big body is a good game sense, and an aggressive streak.  It’s a package that Bulldogs Recruiting Manager Simon Dalrymple thinks could see Adams play straight away.

The number 33, of course, carries some weight around the club.  Brian Royal played 199 games for the Club, was All-Australian in 1983 and 1986,  and is a member of the Bulldog Team of the Century.

It’s a lot to live up to, but Adams thinks it’s special to pull on the red, white & blue, regardless of the number on the back.

“I’ve looked up at the locker a few times, but I haven’t had much time to think about it yet… but I’m sure in the future I’ll be looking at the legends banner. 

“There’s some amazing names up there but I think the whole jumper is [important] let alone the number.  There’s so many legends to carry on from.”