Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has provided an injury update on captain Marcus Bontempelli and ruckman Stefan Martin ahead of the club’s Preliminary Final on Saturday night.
Bontempelli suffered a knee knock and was then stepped on in the final minutes of the Dogs’ thrilling win over Brisbane last week while Martin hasn’t played due to a lack of match fitness from sustained injuries in the last three months.
Beveridge said he’s “more glass half full” than he was on Saturday about Bontempelli’s prospects of playing Port Adelaide this weekend.
“It always comes down to the hypothetical that is the probability higher that you’ll lose that player early in the game,” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“Usually that’s associated with soft tissue injuries, but with things like joints and soreness and bone bruising and things a player might be able to overcome, it gives you a level of confidence that they’ll be able to play the four quarters.
“We’ll see how he (Bontempelli) trains today and how he goes about his work, we’re really hopeful he’ll be okay and if he isn’t, as we have all year, we’ll have to spread the load and fulfil his roles with someone else and believe we can get the job done.
“I’m more glass half full now than I was when it happened.”
However, he says he won’t overrule any decisions made by the club’s medical staff.
“I pretty much just listen and accept what the diagnosis is,” Beveridge said.
“I’ll never ever question that, but it doesn’t mean I don’t have a conversation with the player about how they’re feeling and their confidence levels about playing the game.
“Marcus and I have already touched base about how he’s feeling and there will definitely be another conversation today about how he’s going and his confidence levels in his performance proposition for Saturday night.”
The prospect of including veteran Martin in the team has been a constant discussion in recent weeks, with the Dogs’ ruck position currently unstable.
However, the Bulldogs coach says he hasn’t changed his tune on Martin, and that he’s still unlikely to play.
“Week to week my take on the proposition of us playing Stef has been pretty consistent and all along I’ve said he’s missed a lot of football and the match conditioning aspect is not going to be there,” he said.
“All we’re trying to do is stabilise that position because it was quite stable at the start of the year. It’s by no means stablised right at this point in time.
“If he trains and he trains strongly… there’s a consideration as there has been every other week.
“It’s justified in thinking we need something different, but the Stef Martin proposition doesn’t really change from what it has been over the last month and a half.”
The Bulldogs will feature in their first Preliminary Final since their historic premiership run of 2016 when they take on the Power at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.