THE WESTERN Bulldogs believe vice-captain Ellie Blackburn suffered a foot injury in the dying moments of Thursday evening's 11-point loss to West Coast.

BULLDOGS v EAGLES Full match coverage and stats

Blackburn went down awkwardly in a tackle and spent some time on the deck punching the grass in pain before she was helped from the field. However, the club is confident it is not a knee injury.

"The doctors mentioned the foot, so we're not 100 per cent sure on what it is, well I'm not," Western Bulldogs head coach Tam Hyett said post-match.

"But I guess that'll get scanned and we'll have more of an update probably tomorrow."

Blackburn was the Dogs' best player on the night, with 21 disposals and a goal despite copping the tag of Sanne Bakker.

Eagles coach Daisy Pearce praised the work of her third-gamer who was given the challenging role on the Bulldogs ace.

"I thought she did a really good job. She started on the bench … and Ellie I think had about five of her possessions before Sanne actually got out onto the ground," Pearce said.

"Ellie's an absolute workhorse and will always fight hard. She found a way to kick a goal just through sheer work rate and her smarts, but that was a breakdown, nothing to do with Sanne, so I thought she did a really, really good job."

Despite the loss, it was a positive performance for the Bulldogs who competed hard and pressured the Eagles consistently all game.

They kicked the opening two goals and restricted their opposition's attack, but couldn't quite kick a winning score.

Hyett confirmed that young gun Rylie Wilcox pulled up okay after a heavy knock to the ribs earlier in the game.

Wilcox returned to the field after some attention on the bench.

"She's a tough little bugger," Hyett said of Wilcox.

"She got a hit to the ribs, but she should be fine, maybe a little sore."