Macrae’s the man: Beveridge lauds midfielder’s ‘enormous’ start to season

Luke Beveridge has applauded the early season form of Jack Macrae, who he says has been key to the Bulldogs’ unbeaten start.

The Bulldogs’ all-star midfield stocks are the envy of the competition.

Jack Macrae has been the fire starter for the Western Bulldogs in most games during its phenomenal 6-0 start to the AFL season.

The 26-year-old is setting the tone for the Bulldogs early in matches with his ability to find space in congestion and deliver with pinpoint accuracy.

His handballing has always been elite, but his kicking has gone to a new level and is as damaging as ever.

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge reflected on all of the years that he has coached Macrae and believes this year the star midfielder is at the peak of his powers.

“Jack has had his best start to any season since I’ve been the senior coach,” he said.

“He’s been enormous in getting us out of the blocks.

“Again tonight, he was influential.”

Macrae claimed best-afield honours in the Bulldogs’ 39-point win over GWS Giants in Canberra on Friday night.

He split the Giants defence apart with a whopping 40 disposals, 864 metres gained and six clearances, to go with eight marks and six tackles.

To top it off, Macrae hit the scoreboard, kicking a major in the Bulldogs stunning nine-goal-to-three last quarter.

Macrae will need to maintain the rage if the Bulldogs are to get the better of Richmond in a blockbuster at the MCG on Friday night.

Beveridge described the Tigers, premiers in three out of the past four seasons, as the ultimate test for his top-of-the-table team.

He said the Bulldogs players will need to strike the right balance between having respect for the Tigers and believing in their own Bulldog brand that has served them well on a six-game winning streak to start the season.

“It’s important we absolutely respect what they do because they’ve been a phenomenal outfit,” Beveridge said.

“They’ve got such a stable brand.

“At the same time, we’ve got to make sure we reflect on what’s working for us and do our absolute best to bring it out and have faith that that’s going to test the Tigers and time will tell if it does.

“It’s important that we keep level heads on a big stage, I think it’s at the MCG on a Friday night, so it’s going to be a ripper.”

The Dogs and the Dees are the only sides yet to lose a game in 2021.

INJURIES MEAN EVERY DOG COULD HAVE HIS DAY

A key trait of the Western Bulldogs’ run to the 2016 premiership was their next man up mentality.

Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge will be hoping the 2021 breed of Bulldog is made of the same mettle after his side endured a hellish night of injuries in Friday night’s hard-fought 39-point win over GWS Giants at Manuka Oval in Canberra.

Beveridge is expecting to be without young ruck-forward Tim English, onballer Josh Dunkley and half forward Lin Jong for the highly-anticipated blockbuster against Richmond at the MCG on Friday night.

English is likely to automatically miss a week under the AFL’s concussion protocol, but it could get worse depending on the result of scans on his jaw, which got impacted by the knee of teammate Aaron Naughton in a marking contest.

Dunkley looks set for a stint on the sidelines after popping his shoulder out twice in the last quarter.

Jong, who has endured a raft of injuries during his luckless career, cut an emotional figure after tearing a hamstring in the first quarter.

“We’ve been a bit fortunate at the start of the year, we haven’t had too many casualties, but we lost a few tonight,” Beveridge lamented.

“When things like that happen in games, they’re that connected the boys relationship-wise, you’re not sure how that’s going to affect them.

“That just accentuates the outcome in the end of how enormous [of a win over GWS] it was.”

The Bulldogs have no shortage of willing takers for the spots in the team vacated by the injured trio.

The Dogs’ depth has been praised all week with some commentators suggesting opposition teams target the players on the fringe of the team with the promise of regular senior football.

Beveridge not only believes some players who featured in Footscray’s VFL win over GWS Giants on Thursday night can come in and do a job, but feels like they have the potential to make Western Bulldogs an even stronger team.

“As sad as it is [to sustain injuries], the flipside to that, it will be exciting for some of those lads to come into the team and embrace the challenge,” Beveridge said.

“The players who will play next week who will come in for our injured players quite possibly make us a better team.

“They’re very talented young lads.”

Smooth moving midfielder Patrick Lipinski and bull-at-a-gate forward Rhylee West starred for Footscray and seem like the logical choices to replace Dunkley and Jong if they are officially ruled out.

There are a number of other players banging down the door for selection, including potential first gamers Riley Garcia and Buku Khamis, second-year player Louis Butler, ruckman Jordon Sweet, who impressed on his AFL debut against Gold Coast Suns in round five, and the experienced Mitch Wallis.

Or could exciting No. 1 draft pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, a jack-in-the-box forward, make his debut in the red, white and blue after kicking five goals in the VFL?

Originally published as Macrae’s the man: Beveridge lauds midfielder’s ‘enormous’ start to season