THE WESTERN Bulldogs have been dealt a major blow ahead of Saturday night's elimination final against Fremantle, with star midfielder Tom Liberatore ruled out of the trip to Perth.
The 30-year-old injured his hamstring at training last week and was ruled out of the game at Optus Stadium on Wednesday morning after scans revealed a strain.
Liberatore didn't miss a game in the home and away season and has been one of the Dogs' best players in 2022, averaging 24.7 disposals, 13.1 contested possessions and 7.2 clearances per game to be one of the leading contenders for the Charles Sutton Medal.
DOCKER DOWN Freo star ruled out of elimination final
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said it is unlikely Liberatore would be available next weekend if the club progresses past the Dockers.
"We were hoping that would just be (revealed in) selection news," Beveridge told reporters at ETU Stadium in Port Melbourne on Wednesday morning.
"He had an overstretch last week and got through the whole session, but post (training) we did some investigations and he won't play this week, unfortunately.
"If we get through, he will be touch and go beyond that. He won't be coming to WA."
Fremantle ruled out captain Nat Fyfe on Tuesday night due to a second hamstring strain in the past month.
Bulldogs star Bailey Smith is expected to be available despite having a light training load across the past week.
"He will train this morning and we expect him to be available. He's just got this legacy load thing that we manage here and there," Beveridge said.
MEGA-PREVIEW Key match-ups for Fremantle v Bulldogs
Beveridge said the Bulldogs are unlikely to play Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, Sam Darcy and Josh Bruce in the same forward line as Aaron Naughton this weekend after trying it at times against Hawthorn in round 23.
Bruce has played five senior games since returning from a knee reconstruction against St Kilda in round 18, managing only one goal in that time, but his presence has helped Ugle-Hagan and Darcy find form.
"Brucey has been really important for us with that pinch-hit in the ruck as well." he said.
"He's fighting his way through trying to establish a form line after such a long layoff. I said to him the other day, it is almost like when he first came to the club, he is working really hard for the team. It's not necessarily falling into place for him.
"With Sam swinging in Launceston and having such an effect on the game last week, we are pretty sure we're not going to be able to go in there with all those talls. Tim will need some support in the ruck. One of the challenges is to find that right blend. Josh's position in the team will come down to what that right mix will be."
After being selected with pick No.2 in last November's NAB AFL Draft, Darcy has overcome a delayed start to his career due to a stress fracture in his foot to show he will be one of the favourites for the NAB AFL Rising Star in 2023, starring in defence and in attack across his first three games.
Beveridge said the expectations inside the Whitten Oval were more realistic than outside the four walls of the football club ahead of the 207cm 19-year-old's first final this weekend.
FORWARD OR BACK? Dogs ponder Darcy's best role for Freo showdown
We are all excited by the prospect of what Sam might become in the future, but he is a young man who hasn't done a pre-season yet," he said.
"He's had about ten weeks of footy now. The start of that was about half a game and hoping that he didn't reinjure his foot. That built into six weeks of preparation where the last two he was only playing a full game. Now he has played three games at AFL level.
"The expectations internally may not be as high as what they are externally because of the lack of footy he has played at senior level. Whichever end of the ground we play him at, he should be able to affect the game. One hundred and twenty minutes of finals footy is going to be a big challenge for him."
The Western Bulldogs spent only four of the 23 rounds this year inside the top eight – they never climbed higher than eighth on the ladder – and only snuck into the finals after Carlton lost to Collingwood in dramatic fashion on the final Sunday of the home and away season.
Beveridge, who has led the Dogs to seven wins from 11 finals, including two Grand Final appearances since he was appointed ahead of the 2015 season, said the football gods were kind to his side in the closing stages of the home and away campaign.
"There has been a lot of sliding doors moments over the course of the year," he said.
"We knew at three-quarter time a couple of weeks ago if we didn't come over the top of GWS, we were done and dusted. Then it was the Hawthorn game in Launceston where we really had to grind and win that game.
"The Collingwood-Carlton experience – even the Kozzie Pickett goal at the end of that game (a week earlier) – there has been a lot going on. The gods have smiled on us to get us in there. You make your own luck at times.
"We won't dwell on any of that now, but there is no doubt that halfway through the third quarter of the Collingwood Carlton game, we thought our year was over. We've got a bit of a spring in our step this week."
