Warrnambool picks recruit Jack Dowd for first Hampden league senior game

Dowd joined the Blues from Warrnambool and District league outfit South Rovers in the off-season.

O'Keefe said he'd toiled away in the reserves and deserved his chance in the senior side.

Dowd will run out against top-placed Terang Mortlake at Reid Oval on Saturday.

"He is really good mates with a couple of our younger senior players and he's been great over summer," O'Keefe said.

"He probably started the year off a little bit slow in the reserves but the last four weeks he's been building really nicely and we did earmark him over summer as a senior player so he's been able to progress and show that.

"He is a really good runner, a good ball user and quite strong over the footy too. He's got some decent size with height as well."

O'Keefe said the Bloods - undefeated on top of the ladder - were a well-balanced side which had runners who complemented its big-bodied players.

"They are the real deal so we are looking forward to taking them on," he said.

"I think the best thing is we played South (Warrnambool) a few weeks ago who are probably the benchmark and now we have another benchmark with Terang.

"We felt like we played really well against South and had more scoring shots than them and more entries than them and again after the Terang game - win, lose or draw - we'll get a really good understanding of where we're at against these good sides."

The Blues will be without experienced swingman Tim O'Keeffe who is nursing a hamstring injury.

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