Western Bulldogs ruckman Stefan Martin says he’s excited about the challenge of proving himself to a new group of teammates and supporters in 2021.

Martin was acquired by the Bulldogs during last year’s Trade Period, with the 34-year-old settling in at the Kennel and eager to make a strong impression.

“Even though I’ve been around for a while – I feel like I’ve got to prove myself to a bunch of new people which is good for me,” Martin said.

“In hindsight (the change of clubs) was almost needed – having been in Brissy for quite some time.

“It’s given me a bit of extra energy with a new challenge and trying to prove myself to a whole new club, supporters and players.

“The role of mentor – obviously I’m here to play too – but that’s been enjoyable. I’m loving working with Tim (English) and Jordon (Sweet). ”

Martin sung high praise for English’s performance in the informal practice match hit-out against Hawthorn last week, crediting good communication for the chemistry they’ve been able to build so far.

“I thought Tim was particularly good (against Hawthorn) – gee he’s an impressive forward and impressive footballer. He was the standout there,” Martin said.

“I guess you’d love two of him, but for him to be forward and contributing so well, it lets me be on-ball and do my thing as well.

“Because we’ve been able to chat a lot, we’ve sort of been able to get some chemistry working out what we want games to look like - having been able to put (some of that) in place for a few weeks, I think we are building a bit of chemistry on-field.”

The Western Bulldogs will meet Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Monday afternoon in the 2021 AAMI Community Series.