Luke Beveridge has confirmed that first-year defender Aaron Naughton will make his debut when the Club takes on Greater Western Sydney in Round 1 of the 2018 premiership season in Canberra on Sunday.
An agile and athletic key defender, Naughton was taken with the ninth overall pick of the 2017 NAB AFL Draft in November after playing seven games with Peel Thunder in the WAFL.
His poise and ability to take an intercept mark were highlights of his two JLT performances, and now the 18-year-old is set to begin his AFL career at UNSW Oval in the nation’s capital this weekend.
“It’s a bit unusual for a young key position player to come on the scene and look comfortable so quickly but he’s a big strong strapping lad and we’ve liked what we’ve seen,’’ Beveridge told media on Tuesday.
“We’ll hold our breath at times, but he’s shown enough. He took seven intercept marks in the previous JLT which is a big statement from a young player”
It was Naughton’s ability to match it with his more seasoned teammates early on that caught the eye of the coaching staff, and Beveridge said it will be exciting to see the young West Australian capped as the 1001 Bulldogs player this weekend.
‘’We don’t used the word ‘exciting’ too often, but it is exciting to see such a young player go out and pit his game against some of the best in the game.“
