A NAB Cup berth is a privilege hard-earned says Jack Macrae, with the top 10 draft pick indicating potential and pedigree will provide him no selection guarantees.

With the Western Bulldogs to open their 2013 pre-season campaign Friday night against Essendon and Collingwood, the 18 year-old midfielder has channeled his efforts into impressing on the training track as a means of gaining his first taste of senior football.  

“You have to earn your right to play senior footy and first of all you have got to train well and prepare well,” Macrae said.
 
“Obviously if you do well in NAB Cup - that is real pivotal for me and all the other draftees, to get off to a great start.
 
“Throughout NAB Cup a lot of the young players at the Bulldogs will get a good run and hopefully we can impress.”

Such dedication to his physical preparation has already seen Macrae rewarded, adding noticeable size to his 188 centimetre frame in the few months since  joining the club late last year.

“I am in the best condition I have been in all my life – put on five or six kilos throughout pre-season and also improving my fitness,” he said.
 
“That has been really significant for me, to also get stronger and still be able to run around the field.”

With Bulldogs senior coach Brendan McCartney yet to reveal his squad for Friday night's double header, Macrae is unsure of what part he'll play in the pre-season competition, however believes if called upon he'll find himself in a familiar midfield role.

“We haven’t really spoken about expectations or what games we are pencilled in for,” Macrae said.

“Throughout my junior footy… I played the midfield and half forward role and Bulldogs are really trying to play me as that wing role and have the versatility to also play as a half back,” he said.
 
“The Club’s been really welcoming to all the draftees and really ease us into the system.

Noted for his outside run, agility and play-making ability as a junior playing for the Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup, Macrae brings an exciting dimension to an emerging midfield group at the Whitten Oval.

The Bulldogs second selection in the 2012 AFL Draft (pick 6 overall) is one of six draftees vying for their first taste of AFL football over the coming month, however like the rest of them his focus is on doing the small things well.
 
“It’s just [to] see how the body holds up each week and each training session, [that] has been more the focus – what we can do each day to get better.”