After losing two of their best ball winners during the off-season, the Western Bulldogs are looking to their crop of young players to top up a thinned-out midfield.
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The Dogs are still figuring out how to cope with the loss of young gun Tom Liberatore to a season-ending knee injury, after captain Ryan Griffen left in the off-season to play for Greater Western Sydney.
That will mean plenty of opportunities for any fresh-faced colts hoping to break into the engine room, starting with this Saturday's NAB Challenge match against Melbourne in Ballarat.
Veteran defender Dale Morris said Liberatore's presence on the ball would be missed, but he believed there were young players ready to do the job for the Dogs.
Morris said there was a strong mix of players who could run through the middle, nominating Josh Prudden, Mitch Honeychurch and Jake Stringer among those who would get their chance.
"If you lose your gun players they're hard to replace," he said.
"But we've got a lot of guys willing to step up and put their hand up to take that position and that role."
Morris will have the task of leading out a young team on Saturday, with all of the Bulldogs' draft picks named to play.
Captain Bob Murphy watched training from the sidelines on Friday, but Morris said the inventive playmaker was only being rested to ensure he was primed for round one.
Two prospects Dogs supporters will be keeping an out eye for are high-flying forward Toby McLean and dynamic midfielder Caleb Daniel - the shortest player in the AFL.
Morris said the pint-sized Daniel had impressed with his energy at training, belying his short stature of just 167 centimetres.
"He's the one that's always last off the track, always working the hardest already in his first year," he said.
"I'm excited to see how he goes and I'm sure he's going to do some nice things for this football club."
With such a lack of experience on the park, Morris said there would be opportunities for players who had been at the club for a few years to show some leadership.
He said Marcus Bontempelli, who is set to play more in the midfield this year, was ready to be a leader on the field, particularly up forward to cover for the loss of stalwart Daniel Giansiracusa.
"He's had a good couple of years," he said. "There isn't really that older guy up forward now."
"We've got guys that are doing some nice things and it's time for them to grow from a leadership perspective."
The match against Melbourne will be the first time the Bulldogs have played in Ballarat since they inked a deal last year to eventually play home-and-away games in the city.
Morris said the players were looking forward to playingat their new home away from home.
"It's exciting to get up there and start building the relationship with the city," he said.
