Rugged lawman oddly covered by initiate (8)
I believe the answer is:
stalwart
'rugged' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'lawman oddly covered by initiate' is the wordplay.
'oddly' indicates alternate letters (letters in odd-numbered positions).
'covered by' is an insertion indicator.
'initiate' becomes 'start' (synonyms).
The alternating letters of 'lawman' are 'lwa'.
'lwa' inserted within 'start' is 'STALWART'.
(Other definitions for stalwart that I've seen before include "Loyalist" , "Resolute and firm" , "Valiant" , "Sturdy, tenacious and tough" , "Brick" .)