Western Bulldogs skipper Easton Wood believes "the sky's the limit" for teenage AFL prospect Aaron Naughton.
However, Wood expects rival teams to ramp up their focus on grounding the emerging star.
Nineteen-year-old Naughton delivered one of the most dominant performances by a young forward in recent memory when he booted five goals to fire the Bulldogs to an upset 47-point win over Richmond on Saturday night.
Naughton finished the night with nine contested marks - just one shy of the AFL record held by North Melbourne champion Wayne Carey.
His rise is even more impressive given his first year was spent as a key defender, with the switch to attack only occurring late in the preparation for this season.
"The sky's the limit, isn't it?," Wood said of Naughton.
"When you're 19 and you're taking nine contested marks in a game, that bodes pretty well for the future.
"He's obviously going to get a lot of attention now.
"He already was getting a fair bit from the key defenders but he's going to be getting the No.1 defender every week, which is a challenge in itself.
"Teams will go to work on what his strengths are and obviously try and take that away from him so, as a group ... we've got to go to work on how we can all help him be the best he can be."
Wood spent last season playing alongside Naughton in the backline and said he had been impressed by the youngster's commitment to his craft.
"Obviously you can't forecast an explosion like that but something that's been consistent with him, ever since he's been up forward, is his ability and his timing with his contested marking," Wood said.
"He's got some really sticky mitts on him; we knew he wasn't far away from tearing a game apart.
"It was great to see him put it all together and have such a huge influence on the game."
The win over the Tigers took the Bulldogs to three wins and four losses, with Wood confident they have a high ceiling when they play to their potential.
The Dogs face Brisbane on Saturday in Ballarat, one of two games they will host in the regional city.
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