VETERAN Rory Lobb says emerging talent at the Western Bulldogs will cover the midfield hole left by the departure of stars Bailey Smith and Jack Macrae.<\/p>\n
Smith sought a fresh start at Geelong after missing the 2024 season following a serious knee injury while premiership player Macrae has joined St Kilda after limited opportunities this year.<\/p>\n
But Lobb felt the Bulldogs had the depth at the club to push deep into finals next season after their week one elimination at the hands of Hawthorn.<\/p>\n
“Yeah, of course, it always opens up opportunities for young boys, like Riley Garcia and Harvey Gallagher played a fair few games this year,” Lobb told AAP after playing in the pro-am of the Australian Open.<\/p>\n
“And then Ryley Sanders, who’s in his second year, is a ready-made footballer.<\/p>\n
“We still have the experience in the midfield with (Adam) Treloar and Bont (Marcus Bontempelli) and Ed Richards and we feel comfortable with those guys.”<\/p>\n
Lobb was also rumoured to be seeking an exit from the Bulldogs but said it was speculation that stemmed from his time in the VFL.<\/p>\n
He said he and coach Luke Beveridge were “on the same page.”<\/p>\n
“There’s always going to be speculation when I was playing VFL … but internally, I was having an honest conversation with Bevo (Beveridge).<\/p>\n
“We were on the same page and towards the end of the year, that obviously didn’t matter because I was playing every week.”<\/p>\n
Lobb will begin his 12th AFL pre-season next week but said he was approaching it with a fresh excitement after his mid-season transition to a defender.<\/p>\n
He said a full pre-season amongst the backs would deepen his knowledge of the role after learning on go.<\/p>\n
“It’s actually really exciting, I’m learning essentially a new job in a way,” the 31-year-old said.<\/p>\n
“I’m going to train as a back and work on my craft a little bit more, and not so much on the fly so I can actually learn the position.<\/p>\n
“It’s quite refreshing because I’ve played as a forward-ruck for my whole career.<\/p>\n
“Liam Jones actually transitioned from a forward early in his career so he’s been really good for me and I’m excited to work alongside him and Taylor Duryea and get to work.<\/p>\n
“Hopefully, I can play the footy that I was playing at the back end of the year and we can make finals.”<\/p>\n
MELISSA WOODS\/AAP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
VETERAN Rory Lobb says emerging talent at the Western Bulldogs will cover the midfield hole left by the departure of stars Bailey Smith and Jack Macrae. Smith sought a fresh start at Geelong after missing the 2024 season following a serious knee injury while premiership player Macrae has joined St Kilda after limited opportunities this […]<\/p>\n