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Live sport on SN this weekend“He’s clearly impressed”: Dogs mature-aged draftee set to push case for Round 1 debut
Lachlan Geleit, SEN • February 2nd, 2025 4:52 pm
Mature-age Western Bulldogs draftee Sam Power is set to push for a Round 1 debut after impressing over the pre-season.
The athletic 190cm wing/forward starred last year for Richmond’s VFL side, winning the Forthergill-Round-Mitchell Medal as the competition’s most promising young player and was taken at pick No. 51 by the Dogs as a result.
As well as his on-field exploits, acting Bulldogs head of football Sam Power says that Davidson’s ability to pick up complicated footy concepts has impressed, something that might not surprise given the 23-year-old is a fifth-year medical student.
“Sam's been fantastic,” Power told SEN Whateley.
“He’s a little bit older, being a mature age pick, he spent last year at Richmond's VFL, which is a really good program.
“He’s very intelligent and a fifth-year medical student so he’s picking up the concepts and everything in football – which is getting more complicated and more complex.
“He just absorbs information really well and he's able to execute really well on the back of that.
“With his running, he’s at the high end in terms of endurance and he’s an athlete with some speed.”
While Davidson played primarily forward in the VFL for Richmond, starring in a pair of games where he kicked six goals against the Northern Bullants and four against Port Melbourne, Power envisions the impressive draftee playing a mix of up the ground and inside 50 to show off his athletic traits.
Given how well he’s adapted to AFL life so far, Power has no doubts he’ll be in selection discussions for Round 1 as the practice games begin to ramp up.
“Looking at the draftees, he's clearly impressed over the pre-season,” Power said.
“He played mainly forward at Richmond, but we've tried him a fair bit on the wing just because of his running ability over the pre-season and also as a forward and he's been really impressive.
“I'm sure he'll push his case up over the next few weeks as the practice games ramp up when decisions have to be made around selection.”
The Bulldogs open their season with a Round 1 clash against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on March 15.
