THE ROUGHEAD Family is ready to do battle on Saturday, with cousins Jarryd and Jordan set to play on one another when Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs meet at Aurora Stadium.

 

Hawk Jarryd shares the lead in the Coleman Medal race with West Coast's Josh Kennedy, and will pose a formidable opponent for younger cousin Jordan, who has emerged as a talented key defender this season.

 

Coach Brendan McCartney is backing in his young Bulldog, admitting the dream match-up will happen.

 

"They'll play on each other at some stage I'm sure," McCartney said on Thursday.

 

"They're related I think aren't they, somewhere along the line? You'd think so.

 

"He's a fantastic player, the Hawthorn version. Our young boy is 22, and he's going to be a really good player too.

 

"He's filled in really well for us this year. Whether he becomes a ten-year full-back or a ten-year ruckman/centre half-forward we'll still find out, but we've got a good young player there."

 

After a break-out season, McCartney believes Jordan has what it takes to contain the powerful Hawk.

 

"Jordan Roughead is flying under the radar a little bit," McCartney said.

 

"He's not standing out in games but he is getting the job done more often than not against tall forwards."