A BAPTISM of fire against an imposing Greater Western Sydney forward line won't worry Western Bulldogs debutant Kieran Collins, according AFL Academy coach Brenton Sanderson.
The hulking defender impressed in the NAB Challenge against the Giants and recently in the VFL, and Sanderson believes the 18-year-old is physically ready to combat an attack featuring in-form big men Jeremy Cameron, Jon Patton and Rory Lobb.
The Dandenong Stingrays' product, who's been given the nickname 'Dad' by teammates because of his mature looks, is the last of the Dogs' four 2015 draftees to debut following Josh Dunkley and Marcus Adams in round one, and Bailey Williams in last week's win over Melbourne.
Collins will be the 11th Bulldog to debut since Luke Beveridge took over as coach at the start of 2015, with only the Demons (12) blooding more players in that period.
Teams: this round's full line-ups
"I rate him really highly; he was one of the big improvers in the national academy program in 2015," Sanderson told AFL.com.au.
"He started off the year really well and he just kept on getting better and better, so he'll adjust really quickly."
"He's got fantastic character and he's certainly made of the right stuff."
The Bulldogs were pleasantly surprised when the Under 18 All Australian was still available at their second selection (pick 26), after his attacking tendencies and competiveness saw him rise from a rookie chance to a widely predicted top 20 pick.
Finishing fourth for intercept marks at NAB AFL Under 18 championships and claiming the clean hands test at the draft combine were evidence of his vast improvement.
"He's an intercept marker and he got better and better at getting his hands on the footy and providing some offensive drive," Sanderson said
"It didn't matter who he played on, he had the ability to beat guys who where taller and stronger and he had great success against players who were smaller and more agile.
"He gained great confidence from beating a few players who went early in the draft (Josh Schache and Sam Weideman), but the thing I like about Kieran is he picks up stuff really quickly and learns on the job.
"And he fights until the death, there's no doubt about that."
In further good news, rugged midfielder Koby Stevens will return from an abdominal strain that saw the him miss past fortnight.
Before injury struck, the 24-year-old was in career best form by averaging 25 disposals and five tackles a game.
"Koby's building out a nice little year," Bulldogs midfield coach Joel Corey told the club's website.
"It's a little bit unfortunate the way it was interrupted, [but] he's worked hard in rehab, and hopefully he comes back in and performs straight away."
Lin Jong, Mitch Honeychurch and veteran ruckman Will Minson join Toby McLean, Bailey Dale, Bailey Williams and Caleb Daniel on an extended bench ahead of the Sunday's clash at Spotless Stadium.
