VICTORIOUS Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has revealed experienced utility Lachie Hunter may face some time on the sidelines after he played out Sunday's clash against Carlton with a suspected broken hand.
There are fears that Hunter may have broken his hand during the middle stages of the Marvel Stadium contest and the injury could force the left-footer to miss next week's crucial matchup against in-form Port Adelaide.
BULLDOGS v BLUES Full match coverage and stats
Hunter was pivotal for the Dogs in their fourth quarter comeback against the Blues, with Beveridge admiring the 26-year-old for his bravery to push beyond the pain barrier and play out the match.
"Lachie Hunter - we think has got a broken hand, so it was a pretty determined and tough effort for him to get through the game," Beveridge said.
"There is a chance he might need a plate put in that and they sting.
"He had a huge last quarter did Lachie... it was a great effort for him to keep playing."
While Hunter may be sidelined for some time, Beveridge does expect to regain Tim English from concussion for the trip to the city of churches to face the rampant Power at the Adelaide Oval.
The news isn't as good for fellow ruckman Stefan Martin, who is unlikely to make the trip east due to an ongoing Achilles issue.
"Stef has got an Achilles thing that has been nagging him for a while," Beveridge said.
"We want to get him back at the peak of the powers so probability is we get 'Big Chilli' [English] back, but I think Stef will miss another week."
Beveridge was full of praise for his team's resolve to dig deep against Carlton and the veteran coach singled out Josh Bruce for the five-goal haul that catapults him up to third in the Coleman Medal race with 25 goals for the season.
"Tonight he (Bruce) stood under it, competed extremely hard and was able to convert some of those crucial set shots like he has all year and I thought he had an outstanding night," Beveridge said.
"We asked him to play in the ruck tonight with Tim and Stef out and we needed Josh to pinch hit.
"For Josh to have the juice to play ruck and still go forward and kick goals like he did shows great work ethic and commitment to the team."
Carlton coach David Teague was bitterly disappointed with his team's fadeout against the Dogs, but leapt to the defence of Patrick Cripps after his skipper was held to just 15 disposals for the match.
"He (Cripps) probably hasn't put four quarters together, but he is not alone there as that is our team right now," Teague said.
"Putting four quarters together is a challenge and Sam Walsh and Jacob Weitering are probably the two that have done it, but we need more guys.
"We are not a top team at the moment as we don't do it for long enough."
Teague bemoaned the centre clearance count that his side lost to the Dogs 23-7 and said changes will be made as he searches for the right makeup to the Blues' best 22.
"We have got some good depth at the moment, it is just about finding our best combination and best 22," he said.
Forward Jack Silvagni was concussed during the third quarter of the loss to the Bulldogs and will miss next week's clash against ladder-leaders Melbourne at the MCG.
