WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has given the strongest indication yet that Tom Boyd's club-imposed suspension could be lifted for Saturday night's game against Gold Coast at Cazaly's Stadium.
Beveridge told reporters at his weekly press conference on Tuesday that a decision on the ongoing saga would be made at a meeting of club officials later that night.
Boyd and teammate Zaine Cordy were indefinitely banned from playing in the senior side following a drunken altercation between the two.
The second-year coach said Boyd's selection against the Suns would come down to form and whether he had served his penance.
"We'll find out tonight and I can't give you a definitive answer right now," Beveridge said.
"He probably didn't play (on the weekend) as well as he did the week before at VFL level.
"So on form, we've got to consider that at match committee.
"It's either this week or next I would have thought.
"I think it's time, I think it's time to put it behind us.
"We're ready to get one of the bigs in again."
Beveridge said heavy rain forecast for north-eastern Queensland over the weekend wouldn't have bearing on whether the Dogs picked a taller attack or selected another ruckman after Jordan Roughead was supported by key forward Jack Redpath against Richmond.
Tom Liberatore is unlikely to make the trip north with Beveridge saying the Dogs would take a cautious approach with the star playmaker.
The 23-year-old sustained a small crack in his rib and lung bruising against the Tigers and the three-hour flight to Cairns wouldn’t help his condition.
"(Tom) is unlikely to play (due to) more the flight than anything," Beveridge said.
"(The injuries are) not going to stop him, it's the altitude and the pressure that builds up in the plane and the doctors are a bit worried about it.
"He probably would have played this week if we were playing (in Melbourne)."
While Liberatore's injury is better than first expected, the news is not as good for key defender Marcus Adams.
The first-year sensation's foot injury is now likely to keep him sidelined until round 21, and it leaves the Dogs' undersized defence to combat some tall and imposing forward lines over the next month.
In-form Suns twin towers Tom Lynch and Peter Wright await and that test is followed by assignments against St Kilda, Geelong and North Melbourne.
But Beveridge is backing his defence – the AFL's stingiest – to get the job done once again.
With versatile tall Joel Hamling battling a knee injury, draftee Kieran Collins is line to play his second career game and will travel with the team to Cairns.
"Marcus won't play until round 21 and Joel Hamling wrenched his knee a little and he might play at VFL level, but it's going to come down to the wire, so we really can't take him to Cairns," Beveridge said.
"We've played on some big forward lines previously and when you think of the aerial capabilities of Easton (Wood), Dale (Morris) and Fletcher (Roberts) has been terrific for us defensively.
"We'll back our boys in to get the job done."
