Western Bulldogs Development Coach Chris Maple looks at how each of the Bulldogs listed players fared in the season opener for Williamstown in the VFL on Sunday.

Jack Macrae: Macrae handled himself very well in his first VFL game and had 29 disposals. We are looking for Jackson to continue to develop his body but he ran through the lines well and we want to keep working on his ball use. He acquitted himself very well.

Lukas Markovic: Played a very strong game down in defence. Marko was very hard to play against for the Geelong talls and handled himself very well. Was one of the best defenders on the day.

Michael Talia: Michael had a good game in the season opener – bit the same as Marko. He played down back all day, defended well and was a solid contributor to the team.

Jason Tutt: Jason played two halves – he very quiet early but then came out and had 15 possessions in the second half. Tutt used the ball well and his run and carry after half time saw him work his way back into the game.

Christian Howard: Howard played half back and showed some real dash. He had five tackles on the day and used the ball really well.

Lin Jong: Jong had been very good around the stoppages until he was injured in the second quarter. Because of that he didn’t have a real major impact on the game.

Tom Campbell: Campbell rotated between the ruck and the forward line against Geelong and dominated the hitouts. It was difficult conditions for ruckmen on the day but he was a solid contributor and also had a goal assist.

Patrick Veszpremi: Vespremi kicked a clever goal and did some of those flashy things that he is known for. He also had quite a few contested possessions, which was good to see.

Daniel Pearce: Daniel played half back and was a bit quiet against Geelong. His pre-season form has been excellent, so we will be looking for a bit more from Pearce in round two.

Mark Austin: Austin played in defence and had a bit of a spell in the forward line. He proved very hard to play against and made it difficult for his opponents. Austin also kicked a goal when he went forward and showed a bit of promise at both ends of the ground.

Jake Stringer: In Jake’s first VFL game for Williamstown he showed some real intent around the contest. He kicked a goal and showed a lot of promise.

Jack Redpath: Jack kicked two goals and presented all day. He also applied a lot of forward pressure when the ball hit the ground.