WESTERN Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney has praised his young batch of inside midfielders and emerging ruck brigade after the NAB Cup loss to North Melbourne at Eureka Stadium on Sunday.
The Bulldogs comprehensively won the contested possession count against the Roos, and McCartney said was proud of his young side - believed to be the youngest fielded by the Dogs in many seasons.
Asked if the hard-ball statistic suggested the Bulldogs boasted an abundance of inside players, McCartney said:
"I hope so. I like that type of player. It fits our philosophy. Then we have to add that crisp method away from the contest. We gave the ball back a bit today … but it's a good starting point.
"It would be an expectation with every senior coach that if you’re out there you commit your body and we were really pleased.
"They've got good hearts, our young people, and I think our supporters are going to appreciate them over the years. They'll have areas in their game they're always trying to get better at, but they'll be competitive people. We like that."
McCartney also praised rookie-listed ruckman Tom Campbell, who kicked three goals and had a big impact in his first game for the club.
He said much credit for Campbell's development needed to go to the Bulldogs' forward coach Shannon Grant, who had worked closely with Campbell last year with VFL club Bendigo Bombers.
"He's a good young fella and he's fitted in well as a person," he said.
"He showed enough (to suggest) that he's going to be able to find the ball forward and be a good, strong ruckman for us."
In the absence of No.1 big man Will Minson, McCartney was impressed with the work of the rest of his young ruck department.
"I thought they all had moments in the game where they sort of showed the type of player they'll become," he said.
"I loved Ayce Cordy's last quarter. [I like] his follow-up work and his fluency with the ball. He's got a nice knack of making teammates around him look better, which is a great skill to have. Physically, he's starting to handle the work.
"And Jordan Roughead's done a lot of strong, heavy-duty work.
"But having said that, they're all young ruckmen and it just takes a long time to get young ruckmen physically able to perform at the level all the time. But they're on their way.
The Bulldogs' nine big omissions this week will return next week against McCartney's old club Geelong at Simmonds Stadium.
"(That) will give us a pretty good guide where we're tracking," he said.
"I think we've done enough to give ourselves a good starting position for the season."
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
