Jackson Macrae received some sound advice before making his NAB Cup debut three weeks ago – if he plays to the team structures and has trust in his own abilities then the rest will take care of itself.

The words of wisdom proved beneficial, with the Bulldogs first round draft selection looking composed and capable during his first hitout and then replicating his performance as a substitute against Hawthorn in round two.

“All the players… got around me and settled my nerves a bit and just told me to back myself and take the game on and not go into my shell,” Macrae said.

“Play your natural game and play the structures right and everything will look after itself, so that was really to settle my nerves - that was helpful.

“Once the game starts it just feels like any other game I guess and you are so focused on your role you don’t really worry about anything else so in that sense it is pretty similar.”

The 18-year-old wingman may be mild-mannered off the field but it is his on field confidence that he believes will make an impact in his debut season.

“I guess coming into this pre-season I really tried to back myself and focus on what got me drafted in the first place and not go away from that,” he said.

“A lot of the players you see get drafted and then drop away when they reach AFL standard.

“It’s not the skill level that drops it is more the confidence and the ability to back yourself, so that is something I have really focused on and tried to bring into games no matter who I am playing on.”

Named in the extended squad to take on Fremantle on Saturday night in Western Australia, Macrae is set to build on his momentum – with Danyle Pearce a likely opponent as he continues his apprenticeship in senior football. 

“The best way to learn my craft as a wing role – which I would be looking at playing – is to play on blokes like Issac Smith and Stephen Hill and Danyle Pearce this week at Freo,” he said.

“Learning what they do and how hard they run to receive the footy or to make space for your other teammates to receive – that has been really invaluable.”