Livewire forward Luke Dahlhaus is one of four inclusions to the Western Bulldogs extended squad to take on Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Marcus Bontempelli, Michael Talia and Tom Campbell have also been named in the 25 man squad after making a strong form in the VFL in recent weeks.

Proving his fitness in training today, Dahlhaus will return to the side after missing last weekend’s clash with calf soreness.

“Dahl is obviously a very important part of the way that we play and the way we set up forward of the footy,” Assistant Coach Shannon Grant said.

“We would love to have him back in, he got through training this morning and everything going well I am sure he will be right on the weekend.”

View the Carlton line-up for Sunday's match at Etihad Stadium at westernbulldogs.com.au/teams

Talia looks to be a likely replacement for Dale Morris (suspension) and will bolster the Bulldogs tall timber down back, having excelled in a shutdown role for Footscray in their first two games.

The Bulldogs 2013 first round draftee Marcus Bontempelli is also edging closer to a senior debut, named among the best players in both his VFL outings.

Tom Campbell is also in the mix and could assist ruckman Will Minson, as well as providing a target when resting in the forward line.

Grant said Carlton cannot be underestimated and the Bulldogs will need to be strong around the contest to get the game on their own terms.

“Carlton is a good team – they haven’t started the season as well as they would have liked but they’ve certainly got some serious talent in their team,” he said.

“They are a very good stoppage team, they are very good at getting their hands on it early and being able to get the ball forward.

“We are under no illusions of how tough it will be, we need to make sure that we get our areas… right early in the game and hopefully we can go from there.”

The full Western Bulldogs extended squad can be found below:


Round 5 - Western Bulldogs v Carlton
4:40pm, Sunday, 20 April 2014
at Etihad Stadium

View the Carlton line-up for Sunday's match at Etihad Stadium at westernbulldogs.com.au/teams