WESTERN Bulldogs recruit Ben Hudson always has been a slow starter, so it is no surprise it has taken him four years to find his way home from Adelaide.

The ruckman did not begin his AFL career until he was 24, when he was plucked from obscurity by the Crows in the 2003 draft.

He was playing for the Bulldogs' then feeder club, Werribee, which has decided to stand alone in next year's VFL competition.