Described by Coach Brendan McCartney as unheralded, Jackson Macrae has a way of making the play without too much fuss, and that was on display in the Bulldogs’ first competitive hitout of the year against St Kilda last night.

It was an electric start by the young Bulldogs in soggy conditions, and midfielders Tom Liberatore, Mitch Wallis and Jackson Macrae were central to that.

Eight possessions to quarter time and 27 by the end, Macrae was clean inside the contest where there was no space or time to fumble, and equally as proficient outside of it.

While the summer has been hot and dry, the 19-year-old was confident his team could get the job done when the downpour arrived.

“We haven’t been used to wet weather footy but naturally the ball is on the deck and that is what our strength is, cracking in and under,” he said.

As impressive as the start was, it didn’t all go the Bulldogs’ way, as a second quarter fight back from St Kilda halted momentum.

“We started off the way we wanted to, and all parts of our game flow on from the contest, and disappointingly we went away from that in the second quarter, and as you can see the result showed from that,” he said.

The depth of the Bulldogs’ list has improved significantly in recent seasons, and with it the competition for spots, but as much as Macrae had the start of season proper in mind, the midfielder was also aware of the Coach’s priorities.

“You want to stake your claim for Round 1 obviously, [but] for the team it was good to get a win and we’ve still got a lot to learn until Round 1,” he said.