THE WESTERN Bulldogs have formulated a detailed relocation plan for new indigenous recruit Shane Thorne and his young family to ensure their upcoming move from Darwin is as smooth as possible.

Thorne, 23, was taken by the Dogs at selection No.76 on Thursday night in the NAB AFL Draft.

The mature-aged wingman will move to Melbourne on Sunday minus his partner Jay and two-year-old daughter Jayla, who will relocate in February. 

Recruiting and partnerships manager Simon Dalrymple said Thorne's young family meant additional steps had to be taken in the shifting process.

"His partner and daughter will come down next year and he'll live with Shaun Higgins and Tim Callan next week," he told afl.com.au on Friday. "Then, he'll go to a host family where [fellow indigenous player] Liam Jones lives. That will really help him settle into Melbourne.

"His car won't come down until February when his family arrives so Jonesy will do the driving to training and the host family will look after the domestic duties.

"That means he can just concentrate on his training commitments, then it will become a matter of finding a place for Jay and Jayla to come down to."

The Bulldogs will also assist Jay in transferring her role with Telstra to a western suburbs-based branch, and will attempt to enrol Jayla in childcare at Whitten Oval.

The plan to move Thorne to Footscray was initiated before the draft when Dalrymple and recruiting assistant Wayne McCraw visited the agile midfielder in Darwin.

The focus of the visit was to meet Thorne's extended family as well as pay an unexpected visit to his home.

They also wanted to ensure both sides of his family fully understood how the relocation would work.

"We've worked really hard to communicate with his family about what's involved and to make sure they were supportive of the move," he said.

"We had to make sure there weren't any issues with him relocating and them losing a son and his in-laws losing a daughter and granddaughter, and they were fully supportive."

The Bulldogs are currently talking to the AFL about instilling a mentor for Thorne and the club's other indigenous players.

For now, the club is confident they've done enough to ensure Thorne and his family will experience an issue-free move across the country.

"He says all the right things and we're confident with the right support network, he will adjust, but the proof will be in the pudding," Dalrymple said.

"He'll have to get used to the training loads; that's the crucial one, the full-time commitment.

"We've been really up front with him about that being crucial. There will be times where he'll be struggling and he's just got to push through it. He'll also have to build a support network around him to assist him, and we'll help.

"We're putting some trust in Shane that he can deliver, and we think he's definitely worth a go."

Thorne will officially start training at Whitten Oval on Monday after completing a six-week fitness program issued by the Dogs.