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Former skipper Easton Wood says he’s excited about what emerging key forward Josh Schache can produce in 2020.

As the Bulldogs weigh-up a three-pronged tall forward set-up this season, much of the attention has centred around fellow young gun Aaron Naughton as he has managed a pair of knee injuries, and off-season recruit Josh Bruce.

But Wood believes Schache has been building strongly and is confident he’s ready to take the next step

“Josh just keeps improving, which has been great,” Wood told 3AW Sports Day.

“I think he’s taken another step over this pre-season, and I’m excited to see what he can do.

“He’s obviously a beautiful set shot in front of goal, so he really makes the most of his opportunities.

“But what we’ve seen the real growth in has been his ability to make that contest and either mark it or bring it to ground.”

The 22-year-old showed plenty of promise last season, slotting 24 goals from his 14 AFL games, including match-defining performance against Hawthorn and Port Adelaide.

Wood believes a stable club environment and the ‘organic growth’ of players such as Schache can help the Bulldogs as they seek to better their 2019 campaign.

“(There’s been) organic growth within our team - we’ve got a young team - but I feel like guys are really coming into their best football,” Wood said.

“It’s really exciting, what’s ahead.

“We feel like the midfield can go to another level and we’ve seen some great growth particularly in the forward line over the back half of last year."

“But we still need to get into the season and put it all together, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.”