HIGHLY-touted youngster Marcus Bontempelli is edging closer to making his debut for the Western Bulldogs, with coach Brendan McCartney confident he will slip seamlessly into the side.
The Bulldogs' pick four in last year's NAB AFL Draft has impressed in the VFL over the past couple of weeks.
View Marcus Bontempelli's TAC Cup highlights from last year.
McCartney confirmed on Wednesday morning the 18-year-old was in the mix for Saturday's clash against Richmond at Etihad Stadium.
"Yeah, he is [in contention]," McCartney said.
"We haven't picked a team yet, but when we do we'll let you know."
At 192 centimetres and 85 kilograms, Bontempelli has the athleticism and flexibility to play in almost any position on the ground.
Last year he dominated in the midfield for the Northern Knights, but as a junior also played across half-back and has shown an ability to float forward and kick goals.
"His form is very solid," McCartney said.
"He's learning probably two or three different positions at the moment. We're not sure if he's going to be suited to one area of the ground yet, so part of that is learning where to stand at the stoppage and where to position himself defensively, but the raw talent is really exciting."
Reach, height and football intelligence are just some of the attributes that McCartney believes Bontempelli will bring to the young Bulldogs side.
View Marcus Bontempelli's player profile on westernbulldogs.com.au
He says he's confident the left-footer will have no problem transitioning into the team structure.
"He's already shown he fits the team, he understands what the team needs, which is not common with every young player," McCartney said.
"They come to the game with extraordinary talents, a lot of them, but he just understands footy and where he sits in the team."
The Bulldogs have lost their past three encounters against the Tigers by an average of 66 points.
Once again the Bulldogs defence will be tested against the Tigers' tall timber of Jack Riewoldt and Tyrone Vickery.
In the opening two rounds, Easton Wood has been called on by McCartney to play as a third tall in defence to help out Dale Morris and Jordan Roughead.
The 186 centimetre defender at times has lacked height against some much taller opponents.
McCartney conceded on Wednesday that Wood might need a hand in the backline.
"Possibly, but he's got that athletic prowess," McCartney said.
"If what comes out of this is we get some young players playing the way we want, and Easton can play on a taller player and deal with him and still provide some counterattack, it will be a good result.
"He seems to be better when he's challenged and there's more in front of him, which is a great trait to have."
Key defender Michael Talia has spent the first two weeks of the 2014 season playing in the VFL.
The promising youngster had been regarded as potentially one of the best key defenders in the competition, but McCartney said he still needed to work on several areas of his game before he earned a senior call up this year.
"He's playing in the VFL and playing a lot better right now than he was three or four weeks ago," McCartney said.
"We've been working with him on two or three things in his game and he's still a very young player. If you think a young defender's ready inside their first two or three years, you generally get disappointed.
"He'll get his opportunity very soon provided he shows those behaviours and actions at VFL. He's pretty close to coming back, I would have thought."
Koby Stevens (whiplash) and Tom Liberatore (cramp) both trained on Wednesday after recovering from minor niggles during last Sunday's loss to North Melbourne.
