IT IS not his preferred position and not where the coach wants him to eventually play, but Western Bulldogs youngster Shaun Higgins is making the best of it.

So much so that Higgins has kicked 18 goals as pretty much a permanent small forward in 2007, the third-best tally at the Western Bulldogs ahead of Sunday's AFL clash against the Kangaroos at Telstra Dome.

Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade has earmarked Higgins as a future midfielder but, for now, the 19-year-old is plying his trade in the forward line.

"I've liked it," says Higgins, who has played all 12 games this year and earned a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination in round eight when he kicked four goals against Collingwood.

"With the team we've got at the moment and the way we're playing it makes it pretty easy up forward.

"The idea was to play a little bit in the midfield as well but I think from the start of the year where I started forward I kicked a few goals and I think they just kept me down there."

Brad Johnson leads the club with 36 goals, while Adam Cooney is second on 20.

Higgins is having the type of season many hoped for in 2006, his first year at the club.

Taken as the 11th pick at the 2005 National Draft, Higgins was certainly on his way after making his debut in round nine, but five games later his season was over because of a fractured and dislocated right elbow, which required surgery.

He nominated Simon Black from the Brisbane Lions and West Coast midfielder Ben Cousins as the sort of players he would like to emulate and Eade believes Higgins has the talent to be a key member of the Bulldogs' running brigade.

"He's got a lot of parts of his game that need to get better and we're working hard on that and we're driving him fairly solidly," Eade said.

"He's got a great determination to be a good player."

Eade cautioned there was still a long way to go, citing a need to improve both his running capacity and the defence.

"Certainly we see him as part of our midfield mix," Eade said.

Sunday's match at the MCG has special significance for the Kangaroos, who will celebrate 34-year-old veteran Glenn Archer's 300th career game.

While the Bulldogs are aware of the effect the milestone will have on their opponents, Eade and Higgins did not believe it will have a great influence on the result.

"I notice a couple of coaches from opposition teams are saying it's going to get the Kangaroos over the line, but I think that sort of emotion and euphoria can probably last 10 or 15 minutes," Eade said.

Higgins added: "They are obviously going to build themselves up for a massive game and the start is going to be crucial ... so they don't get the jump."