Fullback Jordan Roughead expect nothing less than a spirited and competitive showing from a youthful Western Bulldogs squad against Fremantle on Saturday, in round three of the 2013 NAB Cup.
 
The future of the Bulldogs will be on display when they take on the Dockers at Mandurah in Western Australia and Roughead believes a number of his teammates will use the opportunity to press for a round one berth.
 
“It is always a great opportunity when you are wearing the Bulldogs colours and I am sure there will be some guys who put their hand up for round one on the weekend,” Roughead said.
 
Despite just 35 senior games under his belt, the 22-year-old versatile tall will be the fifth most experienced Bulldog on the park on Saturday night – with many of the Club’s senior players not making the trip across the Nullarbor.
 
“I think being able to hold on for four quarters is something that we talked about after NAB one and it is something that we did [last] Friday night - we believe we can hold on again and if we can… we will be right in the game,” he said.
 
“I think we’ve recruited really well, bringing in some experienced bodies in Koby [Stevens], Nick [Lower] and [Brett] Goodes - and Goodesy’s not afraid to bang a body which is good to see, so hopefully he will keep doing that.”
 
Roughead said Saturday night poses as a good opportunity for the young Bulldogs brigade to test themselves against more experienced and mature opposition.
 
Executing the basics and defending across the ground will be paramount for the Bulldogs in their third competitive outing for the year, as both teams prepare for the season proper.
 
“We just want to build into a team that is really hard to play against, hard to get a kick against and hard to stop when we’ve got the footy.”