Jamarra Ugle-Hagan celebrates one of his 35 goals that he kicked during his breakout 2023 season. Photo: AAP

WESTERN BULLDOGS
2023 record: 12 wins, 11 losses (9th)

THE INS
James Harmes (Melbourne), Nick Coffield (St Kilda), Lachie Bramble (Hawthorn), Ryley Sanders (Sandringham Dragons), Jordan Croft (Calder Cannons), Joel Freijah (GWV Rebels), Lachlan Smith (Gippsland Power), Aiden O’Driscoll (Perth)

THE OUTS
Toby McLean (delisted), Hayden Crozier (retired), Josh Bruce (retired), Mitch Hannan (delisted), Tim O’Brien (delisted), Roarke Smith (delisted), Robbie McComb (delisted), Jordon Sweet (Port Adelaide), Cody Raak (delisted)

THE STRENGTHS
After one glance at the Bulldogs’ best 22, two things become apparent: a) the list is oozing with talent; and b) it’s confounding that they did not make the finals last year. They’ve got arguably the best player in the competition at their disposal in Marcus Bontempelli, who is supported by a stacked midfield that contains the likes of Tom Liberatore, Jack Macrae and Adam Treloar, the reigning All-Australian ruckman in Tim English, additional All-Australian quality in Caleb Daniel and Bailey Dale, a Norm Smith Medalist in Jason Johannisen, two of the most exciting young key forwards in the AFL in Aaron Naughton and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and one of the league’s best small forwards in Cody Weightman. To say that they have the proper scaffolding to support another run at the top eight would be an understatement. Thanks largely to their ‘Fab Four’ of Bontempelli, Liberatore, Treloar and Macrae, the Dogs ranked second for clearances, third for contested possessions, fourth for inside 50s and eighth for disposals in the AFL last year. Those four stars were also a major reason why the Dogs had the fifth best defence. Big boys Naughton, Ugle-Hagan, English and Rory Lobb helped the Bulldogs sneak into the “top eight” for contested marks, too. They keep accruing young talent and new draftees Ryley Sanders and Jordan Croft look like they’ll be stars of the future. The Bulldogs head into season 2024 with the seventh-oldest and sixth most experienced list, so finals really should be the aim at a minimum.

THE WEAKNESSES
Getting the ball up forward is clearly not an issue for the Bulldogs, but what they do with it when in their attacking zone is most certainly of concern. Despite a steady stream of supply coming in from their brilliant midfield, the Dogs had just the 10th-best attack in the competition last year. And that was because they were ranked 10th for marks inside 50, ninth for scores per inside 50 and 11th for goals per inside 50 on the back of having the third-worst accuracy rate of any team (51.2 per cent). Ugle-Hagan (62) and Naughton (57) took by far the most marks inside 50 for the Dogs last year – roughly double the next best Lobb (30) – so perhaps they need to become less predictable when going forward in 2024. Outside of contested beasts Bontempelli and Liberatore, the Dogs’ tackling pressure wasn’t that flash either in 2023 and they finished up 12th in that category. The Bulldogs are very light on in the ruck department, too. If English goes down, they will have to rely on pinch-hitters Lobb and Sam Darcy, who was been restricted to just seven games in two years so far, which would be less than an ideal situation. And their key defender stocks are quite iffy as well. Liam Jones and Alex Keath are the lynchpins, but they’re 33 and 32 respectively. Beyond those two, their only options really are rookie-listed James O’Donnell and Ryan Gardner. The Dogs’ ability to lose games they shouldn’t was a big issue last year as well – look no further than losses to Hawthorn and West Coast in Rounds 22 and 23 for the most glaring examples. Heading into the Hawks clash, the Dogs were sixth on the ladder, but self-destructed to not only lose to Hawthorn, but also one of the worst teams to ever grace a VFL/AFL field in the Eagles – at Marvel Stadium, no less. Those types of performances with so much on the line justifiably raised questions about the commitment and mindset of the players, and whether their relationship with long-time coach Luke Beveridge was as strong as it should be. The Dogs were 7-3 after Round 10 and looked destined for another September campaign, only to implode by losing eight of their last 13 games. On paper, they are much better than that and they have to prove that they are out on the park while they have all this talent on their list.

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ONE TO WATCH
Ugle-Hagan has been steadily improving each year since debuting in 2021, and the former No.1 draft pick looks set to overtake Naughton and become the Dogs’ best forward this year. On many occasions last year, he showed why the wraps were so big on him at the start of his career. Bags of five against Brisbane and Richmond, as well as four against Fremantle, were the highlights of his career-best tally of 35. But he missed as many as he kicked, and if he can straighten up in 2024, the 21-year-old will achieve official superstar status.

UNDER THE PUMP
Lobb might be the “third banana” in attack, but he has to be more assertive. He finished 20th at the club for marks per game last year, which is just not good enough for someone listed 207cm and 106kg. He finished 18th in the best-and-fairest as well and was rumoured to be linked to Melbourne during the trade period. Lobb still has two years to run on his contract, but if he doesn’t want to slip down the pecking order, he would want to recapture his career-best form from his last year with Fremantle in 2022.

BEST 22
B: Jason Johannisen, Alex Keath, James O’Donnell
HB: Bailey Dale, Liam Jones, Ed Richards
C: Bailey Williams, Tom Liberatore, Adam Treloar
HF: Caleb Daniel, Aaron Naughton, James Harmes
F: Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Rory Lobb, Cody Weightman
R: Tim English, Marcus Bontempelli, Jack Macrae
Inter: Sam Darcy, Taylor Duryea, Rhylee West, Ryley Sanders
Emerg: Oskar Baker, Anthony Scott, Laitham Vandermeer, Caleb Poulter

With star on-baller Bailey Smith to miss the whole year due to a knee reconstruction, the door swings wide open for Sanders. The No.6 pick looked fantastic in the Dogs’ practice match against Hawthorn on the weekend, racking up 30 disposals (10 contested), four clearances, four tackles, 10 score involvements and a goal assist. New recruit Nick Coffield hasn’t played since 2021 due to a horror run of knee, hamstring and calf injuries, but if the talented former Saint can get a clear run at it, he could prove to be an inspired pick-up. Lachie McNeil can perhaps consider himself a tad unlucky not to be included in the 26, but if he translates his pre-season form into the season proper, he won’t be out in the cold for long.

*all team stat rankings mentioned are based on differentials, not totals (apart from overall offence and defence).