THEY have coped without him, but the Western Bulldogs could be boosted by the return of star defender Liam Jones for this weekend's trip to Sydney to face the Swans at the SCG. 

The 33-year-old has missed the past three games due to the moderate-grade medial ligament injury he suffered in the round 16 win over North Melbourne. 

Jones hasn't returned to full training yet, but is set to reintegrate into the main group this week, with the hope he can face the ladder leaders on Sunday. 

The veteran will need to prove his fitness by Friday to be cleared to face Sydney, but there is growing confidence he will face John Longmire's side. 

Rory Lobb has thrived in Jones' absence to reignite his career at the Whitten Oval, after spending most of the first half of the year playing in the VFL. 

The former Greater Western Sydney and Fremantle forward has starred in defence across the month in one of the positional moves of the season.

Lobb quelled Coleman medallist Jeremy Cameron on Saturday night to help lead the Bulldogs to a 47-point win, finishing with 21 disposals, 14 intercept possessions and nine marks at GMHBA Stadium. 

Lobb finished with 21 disposals, 14 intercept possessions and nine marks against the Cats, continuing his stunning reinvention as a key defender. 

Rory Lobb's big month

Across the past month, only Essendon recruit Ben McKay (47) and Carlton star Jacob Weitering (39) have registered more intercept possessions than Lobb's tally of 36. 

New Port Adelaide defender Brandon Zerk-Thatcher (19) is the only player in the competition who has taken more intercept marks than Lobb (18), with Weitering also hauling in that many, just ahead of McKay (16) and Aliir Aliir (16). 

Lobb has also won five of eight (63 per cent) one-on-one contests, which is well above the AFL average (30 per cent) for a defender. 

Luke Beveridge has opted to play Lobb and Buku Khamis as the defensive keys without Jones and with Ryan Gardner (wrist) and James O'Donnell (concussion) sidelined lately. Alex Keath has spent the past fortnight playing for Footscray at VFL level after recovering from a hamstring strain. 

And with Lobb reinventing himself down back, the Dogs have one of the best spines in the AFL.