THE WESTERN Bulldogs have denied they consulted with Hawthorn or any other club on the best way to treat Easton Wood's ongoing hamstring issues.
Wood, who had been acting captain in place of the injured Robert Murphy, has battled hamstring injuries since arriving at the club back in 2007, and has already succumbed twice to the condition this season.
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge was an assistant at the Hawks when Cyril Rioli overcame persistent hamstring strains.
Beveridge said on Tuesday: "If we look back further in (Easton's) history he's had more layoffs than everyone would like, so we've just got to make smart choices (with him).
"As much as we've got experts here, it's always good to get other opinions and we'll continue to do that.
"Cyril Rioli is a great example of a player Hawthorn managed extremely well, and he's had some continuity in his football.
"Hopefully we have a similar result with 'JJ' (injured defender Jason Johannisen) and Easton as well."
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Asked by a reporter on Tuesday if the Dogs had spoken to Hawthorn, Beveridge said, "Yeah, for different reasons ... not just Hawthorn. The medical fraternity, women and men, talk to each other about these things quite regularly."
But on Wednesday the club clarified those comments.
"The medical fraternity in the AFL and sport generally regularly knowledge share on sporting injuries with a view to keeping our athletes healthy and available for competition and games," Beveridge said in a statement to AFL.com.au.
"At no point have we made contact with Hawthorn or any other clubs about Easton’s hamstring injury, and I’m disappointed that those comments were taken out of context and reported that way."
Wood's latest setback caught the Bulldogs by surprise, after the initial scan came back clear, but a subsequent examination detected a slight strain.
Beveridge conceded the AFL's best intercept mark would have to be closely monitored for the rest of his career, and was unlikely to play again until after the club's bye in round 14.
Johannisen is expected to resume through the VFL in the next four weeks.
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In better news, the return of luckless midfielder Clay Smith from a third knee construction has the Bulldogs in a buoyant mood.
The 23-year-old hasn't played since round six last year, but a thorough recovery process will see him run out for Footscray in the VFL on Saturday.
And if the 2011 first-round draft pick hadn't been through enough, the coach thought it was a good idea to play a joke on him ahead of his return to competitive football.
"I mentioned to him the other day we've mucked up the paper work because he's actually on the long-term injury list, and he had to wait another week," Beveridge said.
"So he threatened to play at community level and we all laughed about it.
"It's such a tumultuous period for any player, and he's been through it three times, so it's obviously made him stronger.
"He's a great character, Clay."
