It didn't take long for Nick Ferguson to find his position on the AFL field.
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It won't come as a shock to anyone that the former basketballer found himself in the ruck when he linked up with the Gunnedah Bulldogs in 2020.
Ferguson has made the position his own in 2021 where he has also been one of the Bulldogs' most consistent performers.
The ruckman has been named in the side's best players in five of the six games this season.
And he doesn't want to move from the ruck either. He thrives on the one-on-one challenge the role presents at every ball-up.
"It's such a competitive position and there's a constant battle with the other ruckman," Ferguson said.
He added: "Last year with the older boys - we had Brendon Lemon and Benny Crawley - they're really good ruckmen and took me under their wing and taught me all the tips and tricks."
Prior to 2020, he'd never played AFL and while there are plenty of transferable skills between the sports, kicking was something he had to learn.
"That was a new one to pick up for sure," Ferguson said.
"I struggled with it at first but a lot of blokes on the team, especially Benny Maher, helped me with that and I feel it's sky-rocketed. My kicking's gotten a lot better."
The Bulldogs have won two matches from six games this season and sit fifth on the AFL North West ladder.
They'll be out to bounce back from a 91-point loss to the Tamworth Swans when they take on the Moree-Narrabri joint venture at the Moree Showground on Saturday.
Ferguson was confident the Bulldogs could do that this weekend.
"We've definitely lost a lot of cattle but we've still got a great group and the young boys have a lot of potential," Ferguson said.
The Bulldogs are likely to be without Ben Maher this weekend after he went from the field last Saturday following a head knock.