With the club boasting some of the best youngsters in the Ovens and Murray, the Bulldogs’s main recruiting objective over the off-season was to bring more physical strength into the line-up and the signatures of ruckman Hayden Heta, former captain Brad Thompson and strongly built half-forward Steve Fouracre have followed.

“I think our younger blokes are as good as any in the competition and we just really needed some big bodies in the side,” Twitt said.

“You need them to compete against the top sides like Albury and Yarrawonga.

“‘H&rsq uo; is a big bloke and so is ‘Thommo’ and I’m really happy that part has come together.

“‘Foury&r squo;s certainly developed into a strongly built, aggressive player since he last played for us and his leadership will be invaluable.

“We have a lot of work to do and all we are worried about is ourselves.”

Although the Bulldogs look to have bolstered their physical presence, Thompson is being looked at to address another problem with the Bulldogs lacking targets in attack with Chris Macey and Brett Doswell often used as key forwards.

“He’s another option,” he said.

“We don’t want to kill him in the middle because his body has taken a battering over the years and I would say he’ll spend time up forward at different stages.”

Wodonga is hopeful defender Michael Lamb will play after travel and a lack of preparation hindered his progress this year after returning briefly to the John Flower Oval.