A trio of players racked up a game-high three clearances in Friday night’s NAB Cup triple header – Matthew Boyd, Scott Pendlebury and Bulldogs debutant Jackson Macrae.

Development Coach Chris Maple said Macrae’s clean hands around the stoppages and skilful ball use – with 100% disposal efficiency from five possessions - contributed to a successful first outing for the teenage draftee.

“He took a little time to find his feet but once he did [he] adjusted to the tempo of the game really well,” Maple said.

“[Macrae] used the ball well, he gained three clearances and we were very happy with his game.

“For a young player coming out of the TAC Cup [and] playing his first game against the bigger bodies of the Essendon players, Jackson did really well and held his ground a couple of times.”

The Oakleigh Chargers recruit turned heads in the 2012 TAC Cup finals campaign and glimpses of his talent were on show on Friday night, evading opposition players and backing himself to lay tackles on the more mature Essendon bodies.

A second player to impress Maple on Friday night is Clay Smith who led the disposal count in game two against Collingwood.

The midfielder has made strides over the pre-season in building his body up to compete for longer without detracting from his unyielding style of play.

“Clay has had a big pre-season, [his] body has filled out a fair bit… his running has improved out of sight, also his ball use,” he said.

“He’s worked very hard all pre-season and it was great to see him reap the benefits of that in his first hit out this year.”

Smith’s disposal efficiency was 71.4% from 14 disposals in the shortened match – up from his 65.45% average last season.

The 19-year-old’s innate ability to win the ball in an outnumbered contest was also on show in the battle against Collingwood. 

“He’s a competitive young man [and] there’s a great example of where he beat three players to win the footy and that is the type of stuff that we expect from Clay Smith,” Maple said.