AARON Naughton hopes to have Sam Darcy alongside him in attack as the Western Bulldogs weigh up their best mix of tall forwards for their elimination final against Fremantle.
Father-son recruit Darcy debuted in defence when the two sides last met in round 21 but shone at the other end of the ground in the Bulldogs' round 23 win over Hawthorn.
The 19-year-old kicked two goals and Naughton added three, while fellow talls Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (0.2) and Josh Bruce (0.0) went goalless.
The quartet's availability gives Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge plenty to ponder ahead of Saturday night's knockout final at Optus Stadium.
Naughton is in no doubt about where he thinks the 205cm Darcy should line up.
"I'd like him down there with me," Naughton said on Monday.
"He takes another big defender away so I'd be pretty happy with that.
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"We've only really had the one game (together) and he was really impressive.
"His sheer height and being able to stand under high balls is something not many blokes can do.
"He's only going to get a lot better and it's pretty exciting to play hopefully alongside him this weekend with Jamarra down there.
"The three of us are still pretty young but pretty exciting."
Naughton leads the Bulldogs' goal-kicking with 51 majors this season, almost triple the tally of the next most productive tall forward (Ugle-Hagan, 18).
The 22-year-old was drafted as a defender but said there is no chance he will be sent to the Dogs' backline, which needs to keep Dockers tall Rory Lobb in check after his match-winning four-goal haul the last time they met.
Naughton added that missing round 18 with a bout of COVID-19 had turned out to he a blessing in disguise, given it will him to play his 100th game for the Bulldogs in front of family and friends in his home state.
The powerful forward made good use of the pre-finals bye, relaxing in Anglesea with teammates after a tough home-and-away season in which he battled a nagging knee injury.
"I'm probably one for the bye this year. I'm a little bit sore so it was good to freshen up and I think a lot of boys were like that," Naughton said.
"(My body) is a lot better than halfway through the year. I managed to get rid of the knee tape, which is nice.
"It's feeling really good now."
