Special boots for Smith's debuts

Warragul's Lachlan Smith officially made his AFL debut on Thursday night for the Western Bulldogs against Sydney.
Smith has been made to wait for the opportunity after being selected at pick 47 in the 2023 AFL draft but eventually earned selection off the back of solid form in the VFL as well as the Bulldogs' recent injury crisis.
It was something of a baptism of fire for the 20-year-old ruck, who faced two-time All-Australian Brodie Grundy in his very first centre bounce at Marvel Stadium.
Despite being directly matched up on one of the league's stars and sharing the ruck duties with fellow youngster Louis Emmett, Smith finished with a respectable statline for the night. He won 10 disposals, 13 hit outs, five tackles and four clearances from 73 per cent time on ground.
Smith's debut had a unique family touch too as he was wearing boots specially painted by his sister Cailyn with a custom Spider-Man design.
Cailyn paints Smith's boots for all of his milestone matches with characters he liked as a kid, including Lightning McQueen boots for last year's VFL grand final.
The Bulldogs endured a tough night at the office, however, going down to the Swans 9.6 (60) to 18.18 (126) despite a solid first quarter.
The 202cm man-mountain played his junior football for Bunyip before giving the game away to focus on basketball.
During Victoria's COVID lockdowns he was enticed back to the sport and began playing under 16s football at Warragul Gulls.
He eventually helped the club to a thirds premiership in 2022, winning a spot in Gippsland Power's program in the process and eventually making his way onto the Western Bulldogs' list.
With the club's number one ruck Tim English still some weeks away, Smith now has a chance to show his wares on the big stage should he retain his spot.
The Bulldogs face Fremantle this Friday night at Marvel Stadium.