PLAYING against friend and former teammate Matthew Suckling will be one of the highlights of playing the Western Bulldogs this Sunday at Etihad Stadium, says Hawk Isaac Smith.

Suckling went to the Dogs as a free agent on a three-year contract, after the Hawks beat West Coast in last year's decider.

Smith and Suckling share a long history. The pair is from New South Wales and played together in the juniors at the Wagga Tigers.

They won consecutive premierships in the under-18s, a feat they repeated at Hawthorn in 2014 and 2015.

Suckling missed out on the 2013 flag.

"I'm just looking forward to playing against one of my good mates," Smith said at a footy clinic on Tuesday.

"I caught up with him the other night and have already been into him. It will be good fun.

"Once you cross that white line (though), he's just another Bulldog."

The Bulldogs are on top of the ladder after two wins against Fremantle and St Kilda, by a combined margin of 122 points.

"The Doggies, out of everyone, are probably playing the best footy," Smith said. 

There are many aspects of the Dogs' game that have impressed the speedy Hawk. 

"Their run and dash, they win the contested ball, they take intercept marks and they go off that," he said.

"I don't think they've lost too many contested ball quarters this year.

"I think they've only had 74 points kicked against them this year, so they must be defending fairly well."

The Bulldogs play their first seven games of the season at Etihad Stadium, a schedule that suited their style well according to Smith.

"It's usually a pretty fast-paced game (at Docklands), which the Bulldogs seems to be playing at the moment as well," he said. 

"I guess there's a bit of a difference. There's a roof on it and there's no natural elements." 

The Hawks finished 3-1 at Etihad last year, losing only to Port Adelaide in round 21.