While the GIANTS and Western Bulldogs have been busy preparing for Saturday’s Preliminary Final at Spotless Stadium, we’ve been keeping our eyes on all the activity at the Whitten Oval.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge hinted on Thursday that he could announce the surprise recall of Lin Jong.
The midfielder injured his collarbone in the Bulldog’s Elimination Final win over West Coast in Perth, but could return to the starting line-up to face the GIANTS.
“Surprisingly enough, Lin Jong has come up really healthy after his collarbone and he’ll train today; see how he goes,” Beveridge told reporters at the Whitten Oval.
“If he gets through today and there’s no problems – Greg Hoy has done an amazing job with the surgery there – then we’ll consider him.
“But we won’t take any risks.”
Jong would add to a midfield that is already bursting with talent, having averaged 17 touches in 16 games this season but he will need to prove his fitness on Thursday.
“We’ll probably put him through everything we need to really make sure, and he’s really sure, so it’ll be up to him in the end,” Beveridge said.
“But if he comes through and says, ‘look, I’m right to go’, then he’ll definitely be picked at one level. We’ve just got to decide which.”
The Bulldogs got through their Semi Final against Hawthorn with a clean bill of health and are likely to take unchanged line up into the Preliminary Final.
It’s been 62 long years since the Western Bulldogs last tasted Premiership success.
However, midfielder Tom Liberatore told Melbourne Newspaper The Age he’s not feeling any pressure heading into the crunch game.
"We have not thought like that. We have never really taken into account too much of the past," he said.
“With the new blood, the new players we’ve [only] used the good stuff from the past.
“We have so much experience with Gia and Murph and Dale and Boydy who assist us with making sure it's our brand, our own individual niche of young players."
With both sides featuring star-studded midfields, winning the ruck contest will be of high importance for the GIANTS and the Bulldogs.
Bulldogs’ ruckman Jordan Roughead said it will be business as usual when he and ruck partner Tom Boyd face Shane Mumford and Rory Lobb.
"Not much changes ... get out there, be as predictable as I can for my teammates and try to get us going in the right direction," he told media on Tuesday.
"It's been great working with Tommy the last few weeks and I'm sure we'll go in much the same.
"We'll both look forward to spending a bit of time in the ruck and a bit of time down forward."
