Western Bulldogs senior assistant coach Brendon Lade is looking forward to getting stuck into the 2023 pre-season.
Taking charge of the midfield after joining the Kennel in September, the 2004 Premiership ruck and two-time All Australian said he was keen to help players, like Tim English, reach even greater heights in 2023.
“He’s getting closer and closer (to being one of the best rucks),” Lade told RSN on Thursday morning.
“He’s a really good size, can cover the ground really well and is improving his ruck craft each year.
“He’ll hopefully add a few little things to his game that will make him more consistent and more competitive – hopefully we can get a great result out of him.”
Lade also revealed he sees recruit Rory Lobb playing a similar role to what he played at Fremantle, and was not concerned about the loss of midfield experience this past trade period.
“I think Rory will play a forward-ruck role – he does that as good as probably anyone in the league,” he said.
“With his size and mobility, plus his ability to mark the ball in the forward-line and compete in the ruck – he’s an exciting prospect.
“We’ve got a fair few talls now – Jamarra, Naughton, Sam Darcy – so we’ve got some really good young talls with a couple can probably play both ends of the ground so that’s exciting for us.
“(Losing senior players) brings opportunity for other players – Bailey Smith will get an opportunity in the midfield, plus we’ll have a look at some other wingers and some of the younger guys on the list so we’re excited about that.
“Marc Webb is our other midfield coach, and he’s been working with those younger players so hopefully we can get a couple up to speed and play them on the wing and in the midfield.
“It’s always good having talent and some flexibility on game-day.”
The Bulldogs 1st-4th year players commenced pre-season training this week, with the remainder of the group to return in a fortnight.
