AHEAD of his first meeting against his old side, new Bulldog Matthew Suckling has revealed a text message from an ex-teammate has given him a sneaky suspicion of what awaits him at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

The 27-year-old is glad to get the initial encounter "out of the way" early in the season and suspects a life-long mate could be his opponent at the opening bounce.

"Isaac Smith sent me a text with our magnets next to each other (on the whiteboard), so hopefully that happens throughout the course of the night," Suckling told AFL.com.au.

"(There's been) a few sly comments here and there, and I'm sure they'll continue right up to the game.

"It's definitely a different week because I spent a lot of time (at Hawthorn) and formed a lot of great friendships, but I'm on the other side now and I'm looking forward to it."

While he's also expecting a few boos from the brown and gold faithful after his free agency move to Whitten Oval, what's caught him by surprise is the level of maturity of his young teammates.

A trait that Suckling believes will hold the ladder leaders in good stead against the reigning premiers.

"I wasn't quite sure (their maturity) would be at the level, but I've been impressed on how they go about it, speak and understand the game," Suckling said.

"There's no better test than Hawthorn for as long as I can remember and we're looking forward to that.

"They're a formidable side and very hard to stop.

"I know their players pretty well, but there's one thing knowing them and one thing to stop them."

With debate raging on whether a tag can negate the influence of Sam Mitchell, Suckling believes a defensive approach towards the prolific ball winner can work, but he worries about the ripple effect on a side that's won the past three premierships.

"I think he can definitely be tagged, but when that happens other players get off the chain and they can really dominate," Suckling said.

"I'm not sure (of our approach towards Mitchell), but if we can curb him as a team, that would be good."

The man responsible for that decision is one of the main reasons Suckling finds himself in red, white and blue.

Luke Beveridge had a major influence on him during three seasons as his backline coach at Hawthorn, and the playmaker was curious if a move into a top job had changed a man he respects enormously.

"I always wondered if 'Bevo' had changed, but he's still the same character," Suckling said.

"He loves all his people, would do anything for them and forms great relationships with everyone.

"It was one of the reasons (why I made the move to the Dogs) so I could play under him because he was good to me while I was at Hawthorn.

"He's made it a lot easier to fit in."