NORTH Melbourne veteran Brent Harvey, in a special comments role on ABC Radio on Sunday night, declared the Western Bulldogs had found a genuine player of the future in Ayce Cordy.
Harvey also predicted 21-year-old Cordy would eventually be recognised as the best of the Dogs' young big man trio that includes Liam Jones and Jordan Roughead.
Watch highlights of Tory Dickson & Ayce Cordy's work in front of goal against the Power and their post-match interview on the media player above.
It's also easy to imagine Harvey wishing his Kangaroos had a tall forward of Cordy's apparent potential to divert some of the defensive heat from spearhead Drew Petrie, and eventually to succeed him.
Despite being part of a Bulldogs' attack without an experienced key forward to provide critical education and protection, Cordy is starting to make a reasonable fist of his role as a marking target.
In the Dogs' 38-point win over Port Adelaide on Sunday night, he produced the best of his nine games at AFL level.
Click for the best match photos
He had just eight disposals - the second-fewest for the Dogs - but most of them counted.
Cordy made the most of his 202cm, taking six marks, including five inside 50, and a game-high four contested grabs.
And he finished off his work with two goals - the first time he's kicked more than one in his embryonic career.
Click to watch BulldogsTV's full match coverage.
At half-time it appeared unlikely that he would have an impact on the match after twice leaving the field in the second term after receiving heavy knocks - the first from a clash of heads with teammate Ryan Griffen, the second after being winded when he landed after a marking duel.
"I'm not sure what happened," he told westernbulldogs.com.au of the head clash. "I was a bit dizzy for about 30 seconds. My whole cheek on my left side has gone numb, but I don’t think it's anything too serious. I might have bruised a nerve or something."
All of which makes his efforts in the second half more worthy of merit.
Both of Cordy's goals came from contested, one-on-one marks in the space of just 20 minutes either side of three-quarter-time.
On both occasions he initiated solid contact with his opponent, stood his ground and marked strongly, in his hands and on his chest.
"That's something I've been working on for the best part of four years now," he said. "I arrived at the club as a skinny kid and a lot of my focus has been on getting that physicality right.
"I've got a long, long way to go, but I think I'm finally starting to make some inroads into AFL football."
The Bulldogs forward line has been criticised this season for its lack of potency, with coach Brendan McCartney placing his faith in his developing talls. Cordy understands the external need for immediate results but, like McCartney, believes they will have a strong attack in time.
"We're not immune to that talk - we hear it every day - and we know that we need to stand up and provide and produce for the team," he said. "The good thing is that Jordan, Liam and myself were all drafted in the same year, and we're all helping each other and working together towards a common goal. We need some time, but we also want to make the most of every opportunity we get."
McCartney has been pleased with Cordy's progress this season.
"If you look back through his five or six recent games, he's pretty much given us what he did today," McCartney said of Cordy, who in seven games this season has averaged nine disposals, 3.4 marks and tallied 6.6.
"There was a couple (that) maybe stood out more today because he actually threw his opponent off him.
"He's a driven kid, he's ambitious and he's smart enough to look and say, 'I've got to get better at this and I've got to work on this if I want to play in this team.' And it's a good starting point. He's going to be a good young player."
