Why Lobb is bullish Dogs will cover midfield holes

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 year. 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. "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. "And then Ryley Sanders, who's in his second year, is a ready-made footballer. "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." 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. He said he and coach Luke Beveridge were "on the same page". "There's always going to be speculation when I was playing VFL ... but internally, I was having an honest conversation with Bevo (Beveridge). "We were on the same page and towards the end of the year, that obviously didn't matter because I was playing every week." 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. He said a full pre-season amongst the backs would deepen his knowledge of the role after learning on go. "It's actually really exciting, I'm learning essentially a new job in a way," the 31-year-old said. "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. "It's quite refreshing because I've played as a forward-ruck for my whole career. "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. "Hopefully, I can play the footy that I was playing at the back end of the year and we can make finals."