Crossword Genius

Ball that's targeted article by large canine (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

jackal

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'canine' is the definition.
(jackal is a kind of canine)

'ball that's targeted article by large' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'ball' could be 'jack' (type of ball in bowls) and 'jack' is located in the answer.
'article' could be 'a' (English indefinite article) and 'a' is present in the answer.
'large' could be 'l' (eg in clothes sizes) and 'l' is found in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for jackal that I've seen before include "Flunkey; dog-like omnivore" , "African wild dog" , "Scavenging animal" , "dog, kind of" , "Slender wild dog" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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