Western Bulldogs midfielder Lachie Hunter has been rewarded for hard work in the VFL in recent weeks, with a call-up to the AFL side for his first senior match of 2015.
Hunter has collected 28 and 33 disposals in the last two weeks for Footscray, and gets his chance after impressing in a variety of roles.
Bulldogs senior assistant coach Brett Montgomery said Hunter had earned his spot, and would provide a versatile option.
“Lachie’s found some form and he’s found it in different positions which is important, he’s really flexible.
“We think he can play in all three areas of the ground so if he gets his chance I know he’ll do really well and he’s really hungry for it.”
VIDEO: Watch highlights of Lachie Hunter's 28 disposal and two goal performance for Footscray in the VFL against Collingwood.
The Bulldogs face St Kilda on Saturday afternoon, with the Saints coming off a narrow two-point loss to Essendon last weekend.
The fourth (Bulldogs) and sixth (Saints) ranked sides in the competition for contested possessions should provide an interesting battle, but Montgomery says there is more to the Bulldogs’ game than just contested ball.
“Whilst contested footy was one of our strengths, and a real staple of our game, we think we’re trying to add a few more dimensions.
“They’re (St Kilda) starting to do some really exciting things with some great talent so we’ll certainly be on our toes, we identified a few things earlier in the week that we think they do really well and we’ll need to be at the top of our game to stop.”
Brett Goodes also returns to the line-up after consistent form, with Goodes and Hunter replacing the injured Lin Jong, and Matthew Boyd who is suffering general soreness.
“Brett hasn’t put a foot wrong, he was pretty unlucky to go out of the team but that’s probably a sign of where we’re at at the moment, that things are getting tight.”
The Bulldogs and Saints will play for the Barker-Whitten Challenge, named in honour of former Bulldogs’ legend EJ Whitten and St Kilda’s Trevor Barker.
ROUND 6 - Western Bulldogs v St Kilda
Saturday 9 May 2015, 2:10pm
Venue: Etihad Stadium
| Full back | F Roberts | J Roughead | E Wood |
| Half back | R Murphy | M Talia | J Johannisen |
| Centreline | T Dickson | L Picken | K Stevens |
| Half forward | M Honeychurch | J Stringer | N Hrovat |
| Full forward | S Crameri | T Boyd | C Smith |
| Followers | A Cordy | L Dahlhaus | M Bontempelli |
| Interchange | L Hunter | J Macrae | L Webb |
| B Goodes | |||
| Emergencies | J Grant | W Minson | B Dale |
In: L Hunter, B Goodes
Out: M Boyd (general soreness), L Jong (hand)
