- Jake Stringer one of five changes for Dogs
- Injured Jetta out for Eagles, Lycett named
- Liberatore and Macrae back to strengthen Dogs' midfield
THE WESTERN Bulldogs have rolled the dice at the selection table, recalling star forward Jake Stringer and bringing back Tom Liberatore, Jack Macrae and Easton Wood from injury for Thursday night's elimination final against West Coast.
Meanwhile, the in-form Eagles have lost Lewis Jetta (calf) and replaced the speedster with makeshift ruckman/defender Mitch Brown in their only change.
Sore West Coast big man Scott Lycett has been named for the Domain Stadium clash, despite battling a knee complaint.
After being sent back to Footscray to improve his workrate, Stringer has shown enough in two VFL games to return as the Dogs search for more firepower in attack.
Luke Beveridge's men only booted six goals at Domain Stadium in a round 23 loss to Fremantle.
Liberatore (ankle) and Macrae (hamstring) come in for their first games since round 19, while acting skipper Wood (ankle) returns after landing awkwardly after a marking contest against Essendon in round 22.
Wood's intercept marking could be critical against the Eagles' tall forwards Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling, while Jordan Roughead (calf) also returns to bolster the Dogs' ruck department.
All Australian big man Will Minson's career at the Whitten Oval could be over after he made way for Roughead, while Koby Stevens, Fletcher Roberts, Bailey Williams and Nathan Hrovat have also been dropped.
Despite concerns over a lingering posterior cruciate ligament injury, the Eagles have named Lycett and retained journeyman Jonathan Giles after his stellar performance against the Crows.
The match, which will be Eagles skipper Shannon Hurn's 200th game, is close to a sell-out, with only 900 tickets remaining on Wednesday evening.
Thursday, September 8
West Coast v Western Bulldogs at Domain Stadium, at 6.10pm AWST
WEST COAST
In: M.Brown
Out: L.Jetta (calf)
WESTERN BULLDOGS
In: J.Roughead, E.Wood, T.Liberatore, J.Stringer, J.Macrae
Out: W.Minson, K.Stevens, F.Roberts, N.Hrovat, B.Williams
