Rohan Connolly says that former Magpie Travis Cloke’s first outing for the Western Bulldogs was the most significant news to come out of the club’s JLT Community Series defeat to Melbourne on Saturday.

The Age journalist considers the ex-Collingwood forward’s performance to be highly promising, with the 29-year-old tallying up 12 disposals, a team-high eight marks and two goals, including one nine-point point super goal from the 50 metre arc in the second term.

Connolly says that for all the knowledge that can be gained from a pre-season fixture, Cloke’s spirited display is the most important long-term story for the Dogs.

“In terms of the bigger picture ramifications, I thought the most significant thing was Travis Cloke,” he said on SEN SportSENtral.

“I don’t know if it’s the colours or something but he looks trimmer.

“I don’t think mobility has ever been a big issue for him but I just get the feeling he might have a few more strings to his bow. He just looked a bit rejuvenated.”

Connolly says that the addition of an in-form Cloke alongside the return of former Bombers forward Stewart Crameri from his 12-month suspension could be massive for the Dogs’ forward line.

“They have managed to win the premiership whilst having only the 12th best attack in terms of points scored in the competition,” he said.

“You throw in Cloke, you throw in a Stewie Crameri and then all of a sudden the one area of their game that can be considered a little bit of an Achilles heel is suddenly overflowing with goal scoring power.

“If you have a look at their numbers out of last year, they were really high for inside 50 entries (but) their efficiency wasn’t always outstanding.

“If you have a couple of decent marking key forwards up there, you really give yourself another option – which is the quick kick into the forward 50 rather than trying to spot up one of those leading targets.

“I look at their depth of talent now around all areas of the ground and I think they’re going to be hard to beat.”

Click here to view Travis Cloke's SEN Inside Football AFL Player Ratings.