TIM English can "without a doubt" join the likes of Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn in the elite ruckman category, according to teammate Sam Lloyd.
The young ruckman missed the first Marsh Community Series game with a concussion last week, but was dominant in the Western Bulldogs' intraclub match on Saturday.
The West Australian took several strong contested marks around the ground and kicked a goal as he led the light blue team to a 11.4 (70) to 4.9 (30) win over a slightly weaker dark blue side.
The highlight of his day was sidestepping through traffic to nail a quaint 15m pass to set up Bailey Dale for one of his three goals.
Lloyd signed a one-year contract extension on Saturday morning and was quick to praise the work English has put in over the summer.
"He's had one of the best pre-seasons you'll ever see," Lloyd told reporters post-match.
PRE-SEASON FIXTURE Check out your team's Marsh Community Series games
Mitch Wallis kicked four goals for the light blue side, with some strong work on the lead and crafty finishing around his body.
The veteran forward also volunteered for boundary umpire duties when he spent some time on the bench early in the game.
Josh Bruce kicked a couple of goals for the dark blue team after missing last Friday's game against North Melbourne with a back spasm.
Draftee Louis Butler cut through three opponents off half-back and managed to hit a beautiful pass through the corridor to set up a run.
Fellow first-year player Cody Weightman attempted a huge hanger in the goalsquare, but didn't quite come down with it.
"Cody Weightman is going really well," Lloyd said.
Young defender Buku Khamis impressed with a huge tackle early on, before going back with the flight to take a strong mark one on one.
Matthew Suckling (managed) and Easton Wood (hamstring) both played, but Ed Richards (concussion) was held out.
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Tom Liberatore (knee) did not play in the game, but completed all the non-contact work in the training session beforehand.
The club expects him to return to full training soon to be in the mix within the first month of the home and away season.
