Bulldogs will be major test

We can’t control what happens at an administrative level.

As football coaches and football players, we’re about what we can control which, at this stage of the year, is our preparation for round one.

We’re in good shape heading into our first clash against South Fremantle at Fremantle Oval this Friday.

We’ve played some decent footy in our two practice matches against East Fremantle and Swan Districts, but we’re well aware this week’s game is going to be a significant step up from what we’ve faced in the pre-season.

Traditionally, the first quarter of the first game is an ugly affair as players adjust to the competitiveness.

It’s about us being able to handle the increased intensity and execute our skills under pressure.

The side is still relatively young, so we can expect even further improvement in 2015 from players like Aaron Black (22), Shane Nelson (21), Nick Rodda (20) and Laine Rasmussen (21), who have already established themselves as talented league footballers.

We’ve landed an impressive recruit in Michael Lourey, who comes from a VFL background as a strong forward.

Players coming from the VFL normally take a little bit of time to get used to WAFL football.

The grounds here are bigger, making the style of play a little different from the smaller grounds in Victoria.

We’ve also recruited some promising indigenous talent with the help of Andrew Krakouer.

We’ve picked up ex-West Coast rookie Callum Papertalk, former East Perth footballer Chris Franklyn, former Claremont player Hayden Yarran and former Perth player Chris Yarran.

In the short-term, we expect Papertalk and Franklyn to push for league selection but we believe all can play senior footy down the track.