Western Bulldogs senior coach Luke Beveridge says he was most impressed by the third quarter of Saturday’s Marsh Community Series match against Port Adelaide in Whyalla. 

Despite losing by 10 points in the close contest, Beveridge recognised his side’s ability to respond to the challenge and changes thrown at them. 

“We changed some roles and threw some responsibility towards Pat Lipinski, Bailey Smith and a few others, rather than our mainstays in there,” he said in the post-match press conference. 

“We played Marcus (Bontempelli) and ‘Dunks’ (Josh Dunkley) forward, and so it was really encouraging to see Tim English also play well and work with those inside-mids during that quarter. 

“It was a good outcome dealing with a couple of scenarios and a close game – we got a couple of things wrong in the end there, but we’ll work through that during the week.” 

Beveridge was also pleased to finish the series with a clean bill of health. 

“It’s been another long and arduous pre-season, so we’re going into Round 1 reasonably healthy,” he said. 

“There’s a chance Aaron Naughton will be right for Round 1, so we’ve got to consider him and work our way through that – but there’s a good chance he’ll play. 

“There’s also some lads who played for Footscray (in a VFL practice match) and will be putting pressure on for spots, so our challenge is to pick the right team for Round 1.”

Western Bulldogs will host Collingwood in their season-opener at Marvel Stadium on Friday, March 20 at 7.50pm.