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LUKE Beveridge has backed Dale Morris to play on next year, declaring it would be a "no-brainer" if the veteran stopper was fit and healthy.
Morris told Channel Seven recently: "I'll keep going for as long as I can, I love the game too much.”
Beveridge told reporters he didn't look at birth certificates when it came to list management decisions, backing the 35-year-old to saddle up for a 16th AFL season.
The versatile defender has his injury concerns over the past two seasons, with a broken leg, fractured arm and partially torn ACL limiting him to just 15 games since the Dogs won the 2016 Grand Final – a game he played in with a broken back.
"I want him if he's fit and healthy," Beveridge declared on Tuesday.
"He's playing pretty well, he's been strong and his desire to go on has been strong enough, and he thinks he's got more than another year in him.
"I don't pay much attention to the actual age of the player, it's just their output and their willingness to get everything out of themselves.
"He's had some injuries, we know that, so he's missed some footy, and I think he can go on more than one year.
"Hopefully he gets through and plays some really good footy, (so) it's a no-brainer at the end of the year."
While confident of Morris going around again in 2019, Beveridge was also bullish that Tom Liberatore would remain at Whitten Oval after the gifted playmaker's diligent efforts in his rehabilitation from a second knee reconstruction.
A restricted free agent at season's end, the 26-year-old is one of several Bulldogs with unclear futures.
"(Tom's) just got to get through these hoops with his rehab and make sure he's physically OK (to earn another contract), because he's had a few (knee reconstructions) now, but the signs are good," Beveridge said.
"He's going alright, he's back running, he's looking reasonably strong and trying to prepare himself for 2019, so there's some encouraging signs there with his rehab.
"In January he should almost be at full speed, but the timeline will still be 11 months (since the injury), so he shouldn't be too far away.
"This injury wasn't a car crash-type knee that ripped the shreds out his knee."
Beveridge said second-year forward Fergus Greene was unlikely to make his debut against Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday despite good VFL form.
LUKE Beveridge has backed Dale Morris to play on next year, declaring it would be a "no-brainer" if the veteran stopper was fit and healthy.
Morris told Channel Seven recently: "I'll keep going for as long as I can, I love the game too much.”
Beveridge told reporters he didn't look at birth certificates when it came to list management decisions, backing the 35-year-old to saddle up for a 16th AFL season.
The versatile defender has his injury concerns over the past two seasons, with a broken leg, fractured arm and partially torn ACL limiting him to just 15 games since the Dogs won the 2016 Grand Final – a game he played in with a broken back.
"I want him if he's fit and healthy," Beveridge declared on Tuesday.
"He's playing pretty well, he's been strong and his desire to go on has been strong enough, and he thinks he's got more than another year in him.
"I don't pay much attention to the actual age of the player, it's just their output and their willingness to get everything out of themselves.
"He's had some injuries, we know that, so he's missed some footy, and I think he can go on more than one year.
"Hopefully he gets through and plays some really good footy, (so) it's a no-brainer at the end of the year."
While confident of Morris going around again in 2019, Beveridge was also bullish that Tom Liberatore would remain at Whitten Oval after the gifted playmaker's diligent efforts in his rehabilitation from a second knee reconstruction.
A restricted free agent at season's end, the 26-year-old is one of several Bulldogs with unclear futures.
"(Tom's) just got to get through these hoops with his rehab and make sure he's physically OK (to earn another contract), because he's had a few (knee reconstructions) now, but the signs are good," Beveridge said.
"He's going alright, he's back running, he's looking reasonably strong and trying to prepare himself for 2019, so there's some encouraging signs there with his rehab.
"In January he should almost be at full speed, but the timeline will still be 11 months (since the injury), so he shouldn't be too far away.
"This injury wasn't a car crash-type knee that ripped the shreds out his knee."
Beveridge said second-year forward Fergus Greene was unlikely to make his debut against Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday despite good VFL form.
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