LEWIS Young scraped into last year’s draft by just 11 days.

Taken with the Bulldogs’ third pick, it was hoped the basketball convert could eventually develop into a key forward.

But on Sunday at the MCG, the debutant made a name for himself as a defender.

A reverse Ryan Nyhuis, if you will.

Round 18

Dale Morris — one of the Bulldogs’ most experienced defenders — lauded the breakout performance.

Young replaced the suspended Easton Wood and played in the spirit of the club’s vice-captain, launching himself at the ball at every opportunity.

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“Lewy was great today. You play guys who are in form in the reserves and Lewy has been doing that down there for Footscray,” Morris said on Channel 7.

“He took a fair few intercept marks, backed himself in, made some mistakes. But we all do and you learn from them.

“He did a great job. I’m really proud of him.”

Lewis Young had a stellar debut. Photo: AAP Image/Joe Castro Source: AAP

The 18-year-old finished the match with 21 touches and game-high nine marks, equalling Chris Grant and Brad Hardie’s record for most marks by a Bulldogs player on debut. Pretty good company to keep.

One of those marks — a hanger on the shoulders of Carlton ruckman Matthew Kreuzer in the third term — was one of the highlights of the match.

“He was tremendous,” Jason Johannisen said of Young.

“His intercept ability was outstanding today. He’s got a bright future.”

Marcus Bontempelli was another player to sing Young’s praise, saying he “looked right at home” at AFL level.

Young was just the Bulldogs’ second debutant for the season, following in the footsteps of ruckman Tim English who played his first match in Round 10 against St Kilda.

“Hopefully we can have a few more,” Bontempelli said.

JJ SMILING AGAIN

FOR the first time in a long time, Norm Smith Medal winner Jason Johannisen looked like the 2016 version of himself.

And more importantly, he looked to be enjoying his football.

Fresh off signing a new five-year deal with the Bulldogs, Johannisen kicked one goal from 23 touches.

“It has been a challenging couple of weeks but with the support of the group and the coaches ... you’ve just got to keep working hard and results will come,” Johannisen said.

The 20-point win over Carlton has the Bulldogs sitting one game out of the eight, with the possibility of playing finals still a reality for the reigning premiers.

“I think we need to trust our system,” Johannisen said.

“We know it stands up. We just need to keep on pushing and you never know what can happen.”

ORANGE FOR A GOOD CAUSE

WHILE Carlton didn’t walk away with the four points they won plenty of admirers by sparking conversation around one of Australia’s biggest issues.

The Blues abandoned their traditional navy blue socks in favour for orange ones to highlight the prevalence of domestic violence as part of the club’s Carlton Respects program.

Orange is the colour of harmony and cut quite a striking look alongside Carlton’s navy strip.

Carlton’s orange socks. Photo: AAP Image/Joe Castro Source: AAP

STRINGER ON ICE AND OUT OF ACTION

JAKE Stringer’s day was cut short, after he injured his hamstring in the second term.

The mobile forward was on song early, kicking one major from seven touches as he roamed up the ground to great effect.

He was on ice at half time and looks set to spend some time on the sidelines.

It was a sour note to an otherwise encouraging day for the Bulldogs.

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