Five Bulldogs have been added to the 25-man squad set to take on North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, including last week’s late withdrawal Jason Johannisen.
Joining the rebounding half back in the extended lineup is Daniel Giansiracusa, Jarrad Grant, Jason Tutt and Tom Young who have been jostling for a recall in the VFL in recent weeks.
Senior Assistant Coach Brett Montgomery said the Bulldogs are pleased to have Johannisen back in the mix this week and his creativity in defence would benefit the side against North.
“JJ had a little niggle last week so unfortunately went out… so we are really pleased to bring him back in, he had done a lot right before that week,’ Montgomery said.
“He will bring us some speed, ball use, will certainly take the game on when it’s needed, so he is an important part of our game.”
A five goal haul and eight tackles in the VFL on Sunday led to Grant’s selection in the extended squad, as he looks to add to his three senior games this season.
“We’ve been looking forward to getting Jarrad back into the team for quite some time,” he said.
“He’s just about ready to go again.”
Veteran forward Giansiracusa has also returned to senior calculations after being named as an emergency last week, after kicking 13 goals from 12 games earlier in the year at AFL level.
“We know what Danny brings especially as a sub and we are really looking forward to him closing out his career and finishing off really strongly,” he said.
Jason Tutt and Tom Young have featured regularly among the best at VFL level and have proven capable when given their opportunities at senior level.
Tutt is coming off a three goal and seven tackle effort in Footscray’s win against Werribee on Sunday, while Young has been named among the best players in the past two consecutive weeks.
“We are still playing around with the team and we want to find out about a few guys before the end of the year – we want to find out what our best combinations and mix are,” he said.
Easton Wood (hand) and Nathan Hrovat (ankle) will not line up for the Bulldogs on Sunday through injury.
ROUND 21 - North Melbourne vs Western Bulldogs
Sunday 17 August 2014, 1:10pm
Venue: Etihad Stadium
| Full back | L Picken | J Roughead | M Austin |
| Half back | R Murphy | D Morris | S Higgins |
| Centreline | S Darley | M Boyd | A Cooney |
| Half forward | M Bontempelli | S Crameri | K Stevens |
| Full forward | L Dahlhaus | J Stringer | L Hunter |
| Followers | W Minson | R Griffen | T Liberatore |
| Interchange (from): | J Grant | J Macrae | D Giansiracusa |
| J Tutt | T Young | J Johannisen | |
| T Campbell |
