WESTERN BULLDOGS backman Tom Williams is unlikely to play in the opening round despite continuing his comeback with a solid weekend hit-out in the VFL.

Williams, working his way back from an ankle injury, played about 70 minutes for Williamstown.

Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade said Williams was likely to need another run at VFL level.

"I would think he would probably miss round one and hopefully be right for round two," Eade told Melbourne's SEN radio.

Williams admitted that while he felt physically sound, he was still regaining touch.

"It's hard to pick it up sometimes," he said.

"I feel really good but I've just got to pick up all the little things in the game, so that's taken a bit of time."

The club had gained for permission for star forward Robert Murphy to play in the VFL, but he did not take the field.

Eade said that Murphy, coming off knee surgery, had pulled up sore after last weekend's practice game, although he was able to train solidly on Friday.

But there was reluctance to play both Murphy and Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney, who has also had a restricted pre-season, in next Sunday's Subiaco meeting with Fremantle.

"With the travel to Perth and the big ground, whether we can take two players who haven't had as much game time as others, we have to decide that during the week," Eade said.