Bulldogs put faith in Haggar as new captain

Fast forward 18 years and one of the Bulldogs' "spiritual leaders" will lead the club out as captain when they host Coolamon at Maher Oval on Saturday.

It's a big vote of confidence from new coach Michael Mazzocchi, who saw leadership traits in the defender almost immediately after being appointed.

Although the Bulldogs are tipped to be one of the Riverina League's big improvers after recruiting a strong nucleus of experienced players to complement their young list.

"It's pretty cool being so young and being captain of a club you've been at since you were four years old," Haggar said.

"It gives me a lot of confidence and even talking to him (Mazzocchi) last year before he signed, he was really confident in me and what we could do together.

"Talking to my parents, they thought it would be a good thing to have on my football resume."

Mazzocchi feels the added responsibility will help Haggar improve as a footballer even further after he returned from a nasty ankle injury which cut short his 2019 campaign by finishing second in the Bulldogs' best and fairest last year.

"He impressed me right from the time I signed, he wanted the best for the club," Mazzocchi said.

"I made him captain because he's a bit of a spiritual leader at the club. He's only 22, but he's already one of the senior players, the majority of that playing group is 20 years and under.

"I've got to watch him through the three pre-season games and he leads from the front with how fearless he is backing into contests, and really controls that backline.

"He played good footy last year and it's about pushing him to the next level with another challenge. Guys like (forward) Chase Grintell, (midfielder) Josh Ashcroft and Tyler Cunningham, those guys in the leadership group are around to help out."

The Bulldogs won one of six games in last year's AFL Riverina Championships but their recruiting drive means expectations are far higher.

IN OTHER NEWS

Haggar said those sounding boards will come in handy as he grows into the captaincy position.

"This year we've picked up a few handy recruits and obviously we'll look to push further into the year," Haggar said.

"The one thing we haven't had at the club is a nucleus of experienced blokes like Campy (Stephen Camp), Shaun (Allan), Mitch Ward and Tom Yeats being a premiership player in the Ovens and Murray, they've brought a lot of the young kids along and given them a lot of confidence."

"We'll look to attack a bit more this year, try and use our skills and pace to our advantage.

"We needed blokes to calm everything down when needed. When you're so young you can get caught up in going 100 miles an hour.

"I was around here when the club was about to fold, we've been through that much and I'm starting to get a bit excited and nervous."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: