STAR Western Bulldogs forwards Aaron Naughton and Mitch Wallis are both set to play in Saturday's huge elimination final against St Kilda.
Naughton has been training with a helmet this week following surgery on a depressed cheekbone, while Wallis picked up a shoulder injury in the round 18 clash against Fremantle.
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"Those two lads are fine to play, so it (the make-up of the team) won't be much different to what it has been," Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said on Friday.
Young forward Laitham Vandermeer has missed the previous four games with a reasonably serious hamstring injury, while Matt Suckling has had multiple hamstring strains this year, but Beveridge is "definitely considering" both players for the game.
"They're both around the mark for selection, but it is risky bringing in players off longer-term hamstring injuries," Beveridge said of Vandermeer and Suckling.
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There's no more scratch matches in the works for the Bulldogs, so unselected players will have to press their case in an intense training session on Sunday – that's if they get through the elimination final of course.
Beveridge is confident he's got "plans B and C" at the ready no matter what the Saints ty to throw at them.
The Saints blanketed speedy Bulldog Jason Johannisen by placing Jarryn Geary on him in a shutdown forward role in round two, but Beveridge has thrown his players around in different roles in the last six weeks to ensure they can adapt to whatever happens.
"We're prepared for those defensive tactics," Beveridge said.
"I think we're more equipped now and the Saints will test us because they're a big, physical contested side."
After being outmuscled in last year's elimination final loss to the Giants, the Dogs believe they'll be ready this time around.
"There's a game within a game at times and there's some off the ball stuff that occurs week to week, but it definitely went to new levels in the past," Beveridge said of previous physical battles.
"What we've done earlier in the year is prepare ourselves for that.
"If there was a vulnerability there and someone wanted to scratch that, then we need to make sure that we'd meet it head on."
