1.Young Pups have maturity:

The Bulldogs showed plenty of maturity against a strong North Melbourne outfit, recording a 16-point win in tough conditions.

Even more impressive was their accuracy in front of goal – registering a 7.1 scoreline to the Roos’ 3.9 - which should fill them with plenty of confidence.  

“We had a pretty young crew out there tonight, but their maturity levels and composure they played with was just really good,” senior coach Tam Hyett said post-match.

“We’ve really challenged our players to add more layers to their game, and then we’ve actually added more layers to our methods.

“It was really good to be up against an opposition and see that potentially our method will stack up.

“It’s a really good audit for where we are at.” 

2. Recruits slot in seamlessly:

Dogs fans got their first glimpses of Emma McDonald, Lou Stephenson, Sarah Poustie and Keeley Hardingham at AFLW level, and there was plenty to like about each of them.

McDonald impressed as a tall target up forward, finishing with three goals to her name, while Stephenson provided a contest at both ends of the ground.

Poustie was strong in the middle, while Hardingham competed well in the ruck.

3. Room for improvement:

Despite the result, the Dogs still have room for improvement and will have another chance to tidy up a few things heading into next weekend’s official practice match.

“I think being able to play out four quarters – our first three were really strong, but we probably came off it a little bit in the last quarter,” midfielder Ellie Gavalas said post-match.

“We’ll go to work on a few things throughout the week.

“It was just a really good first hit-out…we’re aware it’s just a praccy game and there’s lots of learnings, but we’re super happy with it for sure.”

Match summary: 

Western Bulldogs 2.0 3.0 7.1 7.1 (43)

North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos 0.2 1.5 1.6 3.9 (27)

Goals: McDonald 3, Smith 2, Hartwig 2

Best(s): Grant, McDonald, Wilcox, Hartwig, Gutknecht