Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has sung the praises of his side's four debutants after Thursday night's JLT Community Series match against Brisbane at Etihad Stadium.

Ruckman Tim English played a full match and impressed, while Patrick Lipinksi, Nathan Mullenger-McHugh and Lewis Young all made a impact when they came on in the second half of the match, in which the Bulldogs clawed back a deficit of 35 points to come within a goal of snatching victory.

"When you think of the blend of players out there for us, four brand new players to our club and I thought that all of them at some point made a contribution. I loved the way Tim English went about his work as a ruck and a forward."

Lipinksi, Mullenger-McHugh and Young combined well with their more experienced teammates to spark the Bulldogs' second-half revival, which was particularly pleasing for Beveridge.

"Paddy Lipinski and Nathan Mullenger-McHugh and Lewis Young, they all had their moments. You don't anticipate that you're going to be that far down but I loved the way they fought back as a group and made it close in the end. That was really encouraging."

English in particular impressed the coach with his attack on the ball.

"[English] is a really intelligent footballer who doesn't shirk that side of the game [contested ball]. I really liked his contribution in what is his first competitive match of senior footy. There's a lot of encouraging signs from Timmy."

With Jordan Roughead and Tom Campbell set to miss the opening home-and-away round match against Collingwood, English's impressive debut has put him in the mix for selection.

"Obviously we're been forced into a situation where we need to work out what our ruck division looks like when it comes to that round 1 game against Collingwood so now's the time to feel our way through it.

"There's some really good signs tonight from Tim. In a few years time he's probably going to be about ten kilograms heavier than he is now but that height and reach will see him continue to use that to his advantage and we can put some pressure on opposition sides.
 
"We'll work out over the course of the next few weeks who plays there but he did well tonight. He has to be [in the mix for round 1]."

The Bulldogs will take on Collingwood in round 1 at the MCG on March 24.