Don't expect the unheralded pups at the Western Bulldogs to remain anonymous for long.
Spearheaded by 19-year-old midfielder Jack Macrae, the Bulldogs produced a sublime final term when they kicked six unanswered goals to dispatch Gold Coast 13.16 (94) to 9.12 (66) in Cairns on Saturday night.
And while the Bulldogs, currently sitting on six wins and in 12th spot on the AFL ladder, are almost certain to miss this year's finals, coach Brendan McCartney tipped a bright future for the AFL club who haven't played finals footy since 2010.
"We think we've got a lot of boys in our club who aren't well known outside our club that our coaches are doing a really good job with and the club is doing a really good job of developing bit by bit," he said.
"If we can keep turning rookies into longterm players and late draft picks into good longterm players were going to be OK.
"We know that the boys that we took early in drafts, their talent is obvious, everyone can see it.
"That's how we believe you build a longterm team and a sustainable team."
While all of the talk coming out of the match was the absence of Suns star skipper Gary Ablett, out for the season with a shoulder injury, the young Bulldogs swamped the Suns midfield and shut down their highly effective fringes.
Macrae wasn't the only young gun who shone in the win.
One of the shining lights for the Bulldogs wasn't even meant to play in the match.
Jason Johannisen was plucked from the VFL to travel as a late replacement for sick skipper Ryan Griffen and he finished with 25 disposals, three marks and a goal in an impressive night out.
"JJ has played a little bit of footy for us down back, and we've had him in a different role in VFL level because we've been able to," McCartney said.
"It's got him running and attacking again and then when we had to put him back in tonight on a necessity that came out in his game.
"He's a clever little player."
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