INEXPERIENCED Western Bulldogs power forward Jack Redpath upstaged some higher-profile teammates to be the most dominant presence in the Dogs' intra-club match at Whitten Oval on Saturday.
Most talk about the Bulldogs' attack has centred on high-price recruit Tom Boyd, and how the former Giant will provide much-needed structure to an attack that also includes tough match-ups like Stewart Crameri and Jake Stringer.
Boyd (who was well held by Dogs vice-captain Jordan Roughead) and Stringer (who spent much time in the midfield) managed just one goal between them and Crameri didn't play, while Redpath (five goals), fellow big man Tom Campbell (three) and small forward Tory Dickson (two) were the stars of the show in attack.
Man-mountain Redpath, 24 and with three AFL games to his name, piled on all five of his goals in the second half, exploding with four majors in the third quarter from a combination of strong marks, good leads and composed conversion.
The former rookie put an exclamation mark on his performance by claiming a juggled contested mark and drilling his fifth goal from long range after the final siren.
Dickson was particularly busy in the first half, when he was the most productive forward afield. Like blue team teammate Redpath, he also had a hand in several other goals.
Meanwhile, ruckman/forward Campbell gave the red team a strong target with two early goals, and continued to ruck and mark confidently around the ground.
Their performances would have pleased new coach Luke Beveridge and increased hopes that the club would find more scoring options, which has been a weakness in recent seasons.
Besides Crameri, other Dogs who sat out the game included brilliant youngster Marcus Bontempelli, ex-skipper Matthew Boyd, Koby Stevens (who had light strapping on his right hand), Nathan Hrovat, Michael Talia, Fletcher Roberts and Clay Smith, who is returning from a knee reconstruction.
After losing star midfielder Tom Liberatore to a season-ending knee injury last week, the Dogs were happy to escape the hitout unscathed.
They also impressed with their fast, daring ball movement. There were plenty of slick exchanges by hand and precise passing by foot. At every possible opportunity they played on and used the corridor.
There was the odd miskick and decision-making error, but on the whole it was frenetic, purposeful and overwhelmingly positive.
It seemed the only time play was stagnant was when someone was taking a set shot – and they hardly missed any of them on a perfect, still afternoon.
Skipper Bob Murphy later took to the stage and shared his excitement with fans over the Bulldogs' ball movement.
"It's been a highlight of the summer, really. I think guys have loosened up a little bit and, to be fair, we're moving the ball a bit freer because we're defending (with) more positivity and more adventure as well. Guys have relished that," Murphy said.
"Luke's brought a lot of subtle changes in… We're a different side and we look like a different side."
Beveridge also noted some "big positives".
"The challenge with moving the footy differently is defending your turnovers, and it was a real turnover game again today, not a lot of stoppages, and we're getting better at that. The signs are reasonably good, so hopefully we can continue to build to round one," he said.
To the fans, Beveridge said: "I hope there's not too much heartache this year. I don't anticipate there will be. But if there is, you're here today so you're staunch… When times are tough, tap the ones on the shoulder next to you who aren't handling it that well and try and drag them along with you. Hopefully there's lots of positives this year."
Dogs president Peter Gordon also revealed the club is "spoilt for choice" with "four or five" high-quality candidates for the vacant CEO position.
Gordon said the club would announce an appointment in the next "four to six weeks".
He also reiterated his hopes to hold further NAB Challenge games at the Bulldogs' spiritual home and continues to dream that they could host a non-Victorian club in a premiership match.
Gordon also revealed the Dogs would launch a "Pay It Forward" membership campaign, encouraging members to buy one or two extra memberships for others.
The Bulldogs’ next NAB Challenge game will be against Melbourne at Eureka Stadium in Ballarat on Saturday March 14.
