At 23, most would consider Koby Stevens still in the early stages of his career.

However the young forward is the 14th eldest on the Dogs’ list and as Stevens enters his third year as a Dog and sixth in the AFL he says he’s ready to stand up and deliver.

“As a 23-year-old I’m probably one of our older players and that’s young.

“Obviously I’ve got to stand up, all our younger boys have to stand up now, we haven’t got many guys older than me… I’m excited about that.”

With the majority of the playing group at a similar age or younger to Stevens, he says that albeit young, the group needs to have an impact this season.

“We all need to step up… and this year I think has to be the year if we want to go places.

“So that 20-23 age group, we’re all wanting to stand up and have a big impact on this group in 2015.”

With numerous off-season changes at the Club, including the arrival of ten new players, Stevens says he’s encouraged by the opportunity for a fresh start.

“There’s obviously big changes, everyone knows that, but we’re excited.

“We brought in a lot of new young guys, and the group is really young… there’s a lot of talent.”