THE WESTERN Bulldogs' high-profile rehab duo of Adam Cooney (knee) and Brian Lake - both of whom remain so crucial to their club's 2012 finals hopes - could make their first on-field appearances early in the NAB Cup.

Bulldogs assistant coach Shannon Grant declared on Wednesday the pair was making steady progress (Cooney with his troublesome right knee and Lake with hip, knee and shoulder ailments that required post-season surgery).

Watch Shannon Grant's Press Conference on BulldogsTV's YouTube Channel.

But Grant added that no risks would be taken with either star in their preparations for the premiership season.

During a press conference at Whitten Oval, Grant also revealed:

• His hopes for the Bulldogs to return to the finals, despite stating such aims haven't been discussed among the coaching panel.

• New coach Brendan McCartney was keen to implement a physical, hard-edged style of play, which was reflected by the brutal nature of training.

• The most viable way of solving the club's major dilemma - its attack, in the wake of Barry Hall's retirement - would be to spread the load rather than rely on inexperienced forwards to make a quantum leap.

Cooney returned to skill and agility drills last Friday, his appearance on the track causing both excitement and anxiety among the Bulldog faithful, and no doubt his coaches and teammates alike. And it's been a case of so far so good. Ditto Lake.

Asked whether Lake would feature in pre-season games, Grant said: "That’s the plan … He's had no hiccups as yet … He's at the stage now where he's really upped the ante with his running.

"He's doing a lot more of it and he's starting to find himself doing a lot more football-based drills … We'll slowly keep putting him in more the more we go, with the hope that we can get a few games into him before the season starts."

But Grant said it was unclear if the two-time All Australian would be ready for the first week of the NAB Cup.

"We haven't got that far yet. He's got a program that he has to get through and we'll be very diligent with him.

"He's obviously very important to us and the way we play. If it needs to be a week or two after that, we'll assess it when we need to."

He said Cooney and Lake would likely be ready to resume playing around the same time.

"We could probably do a little bit more with them but considering that we've had time on our side we don't need to push them," Grant said.

"We'll ease them back into it and hope that we have them both really fit for the start of the season."

In further good news on the injury front, and particularly the Bulldogs' back half, Tom Williams (who missed the last four rounds of 2011 with a fractured right foot) is running strongly in straight lines. However, Dale Morris (who sustained a broken leg in round 21 last year) faces a longer recovery period.

Grant was unequivocal in his expectations for the Dogs in the premiership season.

"It's not something we've spoken about but I don't think you play for anything else [than to play finals]," he said.

"We've obviously had a quite a fair bit of education and a lot of other stuff that we've had to learn and get through … The longer the season goes we'll just keep reassessing and take it from there."

He said the transition to a new coach, and coaching panel, had been a positive process that the players had embraced.

"They've really been encouraging with they way they've been able to learn and take on what we've been trying to achieve with them. We've had a couple of little hiccups along the way but overall I think they've really embraced it," he said.

"We've thrown quite a lot at them over the past three or four months and (not) just their willingness to get the job done but also their ability to get through at a really high-quality level.

"The training standards have been great. We've been really impressed by the way that the leaders take control and lead by their actions out on the ground and off it."

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