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By Jennifer Witham
THE WESTERN Bulldogs say they have a defence flexible enough to overcome Carlton's bevy of forwards on Sunday when the two sides clash at Etihad Stadium.
The Blues had 13 goal-kickers last Saturday in their massive win against Richmond with Eddie Betts booting five, Andrew Walker four, Jarrad Waite and Jeff Garlett three each, and midfielders Mitch Robinson, Chris Judd, Marc Murphy and Kade Simpson two apiece.
The Dogs will enter the match without key backmen Brian Lake, who will spend another week in the VFL and will play in Williamstown's Foxtel Cup semi-final clash with East Perth on Saturday evening, and Ryan Hargrave, who is out indefinitely with a foot injury.
But assistant coach Paul Williams believes they still have the personnel to cover the Blues' attack, which was so potent last week Lachie Henderson was able to play down back again to replace the injured Michael Jamison.
"We're getting some stability in that part of the ground," Williams said after training on Thursday.
"Having [Shaun] Higgins go back there, [Rob] Murphy play there, Tom Williams has been playing good roles and Dale Morris can go tall or small.
"We've got flexibility in our backline so we can counteract that."
The other area in which the Dogs will need to be mindful is the midfield, with the Blues smashing the Tigers 53-31 in the clearances last week thanks to the dominance of ruckmen Robbie Warnock and Matthew Kreuzer.
Williams said the form of the two Blues would force the selection committee to consider recalling Will Minson or Jordan Roughead after the Dogs went in against Melbourne last week with Ben Hudson the main big man and forward Liam Jones - and occasionally Ed Barlow, who will miss with a finger injury - the back ups.
"Warnock probably had his best game for the club last week," he said.
"Their ruck division with Kreuzer coming in and on ball division is a very big strength of theirs and we know that.
"We'll plan as best we can to counteract that but also having in mind that we've got some talent going through that area as well."
However, as far as planning for the game was concerned, Williams said the Dogs couldn't take a huge amount from the Blues' 103-point demolition of the Tigers.
"A lot of the game was probably too disappointing from Richmond's point of view to take too much out of that," he said.
"We'll look at the West Coast game before that, what they did well and what other sides have done well against them."
Williams said the Dogs' minor game-style tweak and a better run with injuries were behind their recent turnaround in form.
"We're definitely getting a healthier list. It's going to be one of the few weeks where we don't have multiple changes," he said.
"It's nice having a little bit of synergy in our side, and we're getting some confidence out of that."
Lake and Hargrave both trained on Thursday, and Williams said the latter was looking positive despite being sidelined with the complaint he battled in the pre-season.
The Bulldogs will use the 80-minute Foxtel Cup clash as another chance for Lake, who has a sore calf, to build match fitness.
"We're really happy with the way he's going and the way he's been able to train significantly behind the walls here," Williams said.
"We couldn't be happier with the progress he's making. We know what sort of quality player he is and we need him in our side as soon as possible.
"As soon as that opportunity comes, he will play - he will be back in our side sooner rather than later and that's going to make us an even stronger side."
Williams said first-year father-son draftees Tom Liberatore and Mitch Wallis were feeling the pinch of the long season and their earlier start at the club than the other draftees - but backed them to return to the side.
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THE WESTERN Bulldogs say they have a defence flexible enough to overcome Carlton's bevy of forwards on Sunday when the two sides clash at Etihad Stadium.
The Blues had 13 goal-kickers last Saturday in their massive win against Richmond with Eddie Betts booting five, Andrew Walker four, Jarrad Waite and Jeff Garlett three each, and midfielders Mitch Robinson, Chris Judd, Marc Murphy and Kade Simpson two apiece.
The Dogs will enter the match without key backmen Brian Lake, who will spend another week in the VFL and will play in Williamstown's Foxtel Cup semi-final clash with East Perth on Saturday evening, and Ryan Hargrave, who is out indefinitely with a foot injury.
But assistant coach Paul Williams believes they still have the personnel to cover the Blues' attack, which was so potent last week Lachie Henderson was able to play down back again to replace the injured Michael Jamison.
"We're getting some stability in that part of the ground," Williams said after training on Thursday.
"Having [Shaun] Higgins go back there, [Rob] Murphy play there, Tom Williams has been playing good roles and Dale Morris can go tall or small.
"We've got flexibility in our backline so we can counteract that."
The other area in which the Dogs will need to be mindful is the midfield, with the Blues smashing the Tigers 53-31 in the clearances last week thanks to the dominance of ruckmen Robbie Warnock and Matthew Kreuzer.
Williams said the form of the two Blues would force the selection committee to consider recalling Will Minson or Jordan Roughead after the Dogs went in against Melbourne last week with Ben Hudson the main big man and forward Liam Jones - and occasionally Ed Barlow, who will miss with a finger injury - the back ups.
"Warnock probably had his best game for the club last week," he said.
"Their ruck division with Kreuzer coming in and on ball division is a very big strength of theirs and we know that.
"We'll plan as best we can to counteract that but also having in mind that we've got some talent going through that area as well."
However, as far as planning for the game was concerned, Williams said the Dogs couldn't take a huge amount from the Blues' 103-point demolition of the Tigers.
"A lot of the game was probably too disappointing from Richmond's point of view to take too much out of that," he said.
"We'll look at the West Coast game before that, what they did well and what other sides have done well against them."
Williams said the Dogs' minor game-style tweak and a better run with injuries were behind their recent turnaround in form.
"We're definitely getting a healthier list. It's going to be one of the few weeks where we don't have multiple changes," he said.
"It's nice having a little bit of synergy in our side, and we're getting some confidence out of that."
Lake and Hargrave both trained on Thursday, and Williams said the latter was looking positive despite being sidelined with the complaint he battled in the pre-season.
The Bulldogs will use the 80-minute Foxtel Cup clash as another chance for Lake, who has a sore calf, to build match fitness.
"We're really happy with the way he's going and the way he's been able to train significantly behind the walls here," Williams said.
"We couldn't be happier with the progress he's making. We know what sort of quality player he is and we need him in our side as soon as possible.
"As soon as that opportunity comes, he will play - he will be back in our side sooner rather than later and that's going to make us an even stronger side."
Williams said first-year father-son draftees Tom Liberatore and Mitch Wallis were feeling the pinch of the long season and their earlier start at the club than the other draftees - but backed them to return to the side.
Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network
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