THE WESTERN BULLDOGS are likely to regain acting captain Easton Wood for their clash against the Sydney Swans at the SCG in round 15, and should be bolstered by a host of returning players in the weeks after that.
The Bulldogs have been hit hard by injury in the first half of the season, but coach Luke Beveridge says things would start to look better for his team after its bye next weekend.
Although the Bulldogs won't regain skipper Robert Murphy (knee) until next season, Beveridge said Jason Johannissen (sidelined since round four with a hamstring) and Koby Stevens (round nine, abdominal) should return at some level in round 15, along with youngster Roarke Smith (knee).
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"We'll get some boys back. We'll get Koby back, we'll get 'JJ' (Johannisen) back, Easton will be right to go, Roarke Smith is going to play, Clay (Smith) will be playing his second or third game by then," Beveridge said.
"So we're looking a bit healthier from a squad perspective, but what the right mix is just depends on players and their form."
Beveridge said Wood and, to a lesser extent, Stevens were the most likely of those returnees to come straight back into the Dogs' senior team against the Swans.
"Easton hasn't been out that long (but) Koby has missed some games in between," Beveridge said.
"JJ will be probably playing that round, but I wouldn't imagine he'll be playing at AFL level. He's been out too long.
"We'll wait and see, there's a bit of water to go under the selection bridge."
WATCH: Luke Beveridge's full post-match press conference
Spearhead Tom Boyd has played two games in the VFL since returning from a shoulder injury suffered in round four against Carlton, but Beveridge said the former Giant still had to prove he could get through a senior game before he would earn a recall.
"We've just got to make sure that he's totally right. He's coming back from a shoulder injury that's risky and we can't (afford to) lose him during the game," Beveridge said.
"So once we're totally satisfied he's 100 per cent, he'll regain his spot in the AFL side."
The Bulldogs were smashed by Geelong by 57 points at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, a loss that will see them slip to sixth by the end of round 13 if, as expected, Greater Western Sydney defeats Essendon.
Asked whether a top-four finish remained the Bulldogs' aim, Beveridge said the club couldn't afford to look too far ahead.
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"We haven't achieved anything. We're 9-4 and stranger things have happened. We've got a long way to go and we won't change our approach from the perspective of being a week-to-week side," Beveridge said.
"We've got some big challenges ahead, Sydney is a significant challenge in two weeks' time.
"We'll worry about Sydney. It's just too far out to even think about ladder positions, but we've given ourselves a look and an opportunity to really press in the back end of the year.
"We think we'll be able to continue to be very hard to beat, but tonight didn't reflect that so we'll need to bounce back."
