The Final Word - Round 1

With the hype that a Round 1 fixture can generate, it can often be easy to forget about external factors that contribute to a game of football.

But that's often how the career of Jackson Macrae has panned out - flying under the radar as the more glamorous players around him steal the spotlight. So it's somewhat appropriate that he celebrates his 100th match on a weekend where it's become little more than an afterthought in the minds of most Bulldogs supporters.

Jackson Macrae: assured, consistent, underrated, and composed. As ever. Source: Getty Images

But that's not to take away from the man himself, and the supremely talented midfielder that he has been from the moment he walked through the doors of the Western Oval. Drafted at Pick 6 in the 2012 National Draft, Macrae proved himself very early to be a ready-made ball-winning midfielder, and by Round 4 the following year, he'd been called up to make his debut, finishing with 16 disposals and a debut goal in atrocious conditions at AAMI Stadium in what was overall a disappointing day for the Bulldogs. But they had found their next star that day.

In Macrae's 13 games in season 2013, he recorded over 20 disposals seven times, and of the remaining six, he was brought on as the sub twice.

Many would argue that his true coming-of-age moment arrived in late-2014, when he was assigned as the starting sub in a Round 16 clash against Geelong, despite being one of the Bulldogs best players for the year. He went on to prove that he wasn't even close to being out of form, with 17 second-half disposals.

However, then-coach Brendan McCartney wasn't so glowing in his assessment of Macrae post-match.

"Jack has been letting us down in some areas and those areas he’s well aware of and they actually bobbed up again late in the game," he said.

"There’s possessions and there’s team accountability and there’s defence decision-making that doesn’t overload you teammates, that you should make at the right time.

"He was actually lucky to stay in the side. Possessions are important, but not at the expense of how our team functions."

It was a shock to just about everyone, but what was most impressive would be how Macrae responded the following week.

Against the Suns, Macrae had a mammoth 43-disposals (a record for a 19-year-old), five tackles and two goals.

This wasn't just any ordinary young player. This was a man of immense talent and resilience.

But of course, the moment everyone will forever remember will be THAT goal in the 2016 Preliminary Final. With the scores tied and just three minutes left on the clock, a perfect Tom Liberatore kick inside-50 hit Macrae on the chest, and the No.11 calmly went back and slotted it through with that unique kicking action that he possesses. It turned out to be the match winner, and arguably the most famous goal in the club's history. It was the moment in the sun that such an underrated player deserved.

One week later, he would dominate the Grand Final with an equal-team-high 33 possessions - just a typically assured Jackson Macrae performance on the biggest stage of all, and we've come to expect no less from him.

Jackson, we wish you the very best of luck in your 100th game. You may be underrated in the eyes of many, but we're all well aware of the superstar that lay within you, and we can't wait to see it come to the fore against the Giants - what an appropriate team to bring up the milestone against.

THAT goal. You know which one. We all know which one. Source: Getty Images