Tom Liberatore came out firing in an intraclub match at Whitten Oval on Saturday morning, delighting the thousands of Doggies fans in attendance.
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Voted the club's best and fairest player in 2014, Liberatore missed the entire 2015 after hurting his knee in the NAB Challenge.
He did not play out the whole scratch match, with coaching staff saying they wanted to ease him back into football. But they were confident he would be ready to play by round one.
A fit-looking Jake Stringer was a stand-out in the match, booting three, and draftee Josh Dunkley played well, finishing with two.
Captain Robert Murphy was typically classy in the backline for the Blue team.
Promising young forward Tom Boyd was a notable absentee, but assistant coach Rohan Smith said he was just slightly tight in the hamstring and would be back in full training by next week.
Smith said it was great to see Liberatore embrace the game with such confidence after a year on the sidelines.
"He's had a great preseason really, he hasn't missed a beat, then he comes out and plays like that, it just looks like he hasn't hardly missed.
"I'm sure all the Bulldogs supporters are really happy and the coaching staff are pretty happy too."
Selected by the Doggies as pick 62 in the 2011 rookie draft, 25-year-old Jack Redpath had his best AFL season last year, playing 12 senior games.
His unlikely football success story continued on Saturday, when he kicked four goals before appearing to hurt himself slightly.
Smith said the big-bodied player had just been knocked on the hip, but was otherwise fine.
"He presented really well as a forward, some of our ball movement through the middle of the ground was really special," he said.
"Him presenting and taking some strong marks and reliable kick for goal as well. To kick four in a half, was really good."
Usually considered a forward, Stringer spent time in the midfield where he dominated play.
The 21-year-old had put in a great preseason, Smith said, and the middle was a position Bulldogs fans should expect to see him in more often.
While the coaches were disappointed with some of his defensive efforts on occasion, Smith said Stringer was a special player.
"He's progressing into a powerful midfielder who can go forward and kick goals," he said.
Former Hawthorn player Matt Suckling, who joined the Bulldogs as a free agent at the end of last year, would also move around the ground, Smith said.
"Don't be surprised if Suckling plays as a backman, as a midfielder and as a forward," Smith said.
Draftee Marcus Adam, who the Doggies chose at pick 35, also put in a strong performance.
Smith said he had praised the 22-year-old for defending with purpose.
He said the club has a good young list that would continue to improve with experience and had not suffered any major injuries in the match.
"With some of our players playing 23 [games] plus final last year, you can see the confidence in them and the confidence is growing for those guys over the preseason," he said.
