Western Bulldogs tagger Liam Picken's great start to his AFL career has filled a hole for the club, says coach Rodney Eade.

The nuggety 22-year-old needed plenty of patience to break into the AFL, spending three years in the VFL with Williamstown before being rookie-listed by the Dogs.

But from the time he shut down North Melbourne playmaker Brent Harvey in his AFL debut in round two, the courageous on-baller has been an instant success.

His list of big-name scalps has also included Adelaide's Andrew McLeod and St Kilda's Leigh Montagna.

On Friday night, he blanketed Richmond star Brett Deledio for the second time this season.

The pacy Tiger managed just 13 disposals, to go with the 16 he picked up against the same club in round three, the only two times this year Deledio has had fewer than 20 touches.

Adding to Picken's dominance, when Deledio was shifted to defence to try to work his way into the game in the third quarter, Picken went with him and slotted two early goals as the Bulldogs stormed away with the match, surprising even Eade.

"The fact that he can go forward as well, I would never have thought that," Eade said.

But he said Picken's primary job stopping speedy opposition stars had been a significant gain for the club.

"There's always one or two areas of every team you'd like to improve, but we just didn't have a quick run-with player," Eade said.

"We've got (Daniel) Cross and (Matthew) Boyd but we didn't have anyone (in a tagging role) with pace.

"He did a pre-season with us, we knew he was tough, we knew he was strong, we just wanted to measure his tank and his pace and they tested very well."

Eade said the youngster was continually looking to add elements to his game besides his defensive capabilities.

"He's really improved his decision-making, he's really improved his handball and he's improved his ability to read the play and he does extras on that.

"He's improving as a player so he can be proactive at the same time."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP