BULLDOGS midfielder Jack Macrae says there has been a newfound confidence in the playing group, ever since Luke Beveridge walked in the door as head coach at Whitten Oval.
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Macrae looked forward to testing team confidence against Collingwood on Sunday, a team with just as much exciting, developing young players as Western Bulldogs – and with just as much on the line in a continued push to make AFL finals.
“I definitely like to play these (big) games. We’ve played a couple now and performed all right,” Macrae said. “We don’t really talk about how Collingwood need to win to make the eight. We know if we want to stay in there what we have to do.”
Macrae said Beveridge’s new attacking brand had given a new lease of life to players – even he was working on developing more as an inside player – but there was still a way to go this season and his team had plenty to prove.
The Bulldogs are changing-up preparations for community visits right through the western corridor on Thursday. Macrae looked forward to returning to Ballarat where he will host a super-clinic for juniors, aged 6-12, at Eastern Oval. He will make the trip with Stewart Crameri, Mitch Wallis, Tory Dickson, Lukas Webb and former North Ballarat Rooster Brett Goodes where they will join with Ballarat’s Kaitlyn Ashmore, who is on the Bulldogs’ AFL women’s list.
This continues to strengthen the Bulldogs’ partnership with the City of Ballarat and build on the community camp the Bulldogs made in town earlier this year.
Macrae said it was great to return to the Ballarat, a city that already had strong ties with the club in Ballarat exports Brett Goodes, development coach Chris Maple and vice-captain Jordan Roughead. Macrae quipped that Roughead liked to give teammates the impression he was king of Ballarat.
And the visit would not take away from the club’s preparations.
“Every time you mix it up and break out of routine is a good thing,” Macrae said.
They will be ready.
BULLDOGS CLINIC
at Eastern Oval
Thursday, 4.15pm