With Will Minson omitted for the clash against the Crows, an opportunity opened up for Roughead to make his way into the team.
"I'm stoked; I'm really excited about the game. It should be good fun and hopefully we can have a win," Roughead said. "I found out Tuesday afternoon when I got a call from Rocket when I was in the car on the way home with a few of the boys.
"I'm trying to keep it pretty low key, I'm just really focusing on the game and looking forward to getting out there and playing my role for the team.
"The coaching staff has obviously given me some specific things to work on, but I just want to bring a lot of enthusiasm and excitement to the team."
Roughead, 19, has come a long way since the Dogs picked him in the second round (31st overall) of the 2008 NAB AFL Draft.
A shoulder injury slowed him at the start of his first season, but it didn't take long before he forced his way into the Williamstown VFL team.
Plenty of work with ruck coach John Barnes and teammates Ben Hudson and Minson helped him continue to gain confidence which he carried through into an eye-catching NAB Cup campaign earlier this year.
"I was confident I'd get an opportunity this year and the NAB Cup experience really helped," Roughead says.
"But now that I've got the opportunity I'm going to try to make the absolute most of it."
Bulldogs' fans will be hoping the athletic 200cm ruckman can one day emulate the feats of some of his boyhood idols.
"I followed the Bulldogs as a youngster so I looked up to Scotty Wynd and Luke Darcy and wanted to play like them when I was a bit older," he says.
"More recently Dean Cox is the main guy that I've really looked at closely and wanted to play like."
Roughead has looked on with great interest as the player who went second overall the same year he was drafted, Nic Naitanui, has set about re-writing the book on playing the ruck position in the AFL.
"Obviously it's good to stay mobile as a ruckman these days, to be able to get around the ground, get used and get a bit of the football," he says.
"But I've still got to work really hard inside the contest and try to lay a few tackles or put on some shepherds for my teammates.
"I'm certainly hoping that I can be a part of that new breed, but I'm not about to get ahead of myself. I've still got a lot of work to do."
