Luke Beveridge is hopeful that midfielder Marcus Bontempelli will make his 2017 debut in next Thursday's JLT Community Series Cup match against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium. 

Beveridge said that Bontempelli would be looking to return after a minor ankle complaint saw him withdraw from the side that went down to the Brisbane Lions on Thursday night.

"Marcus came back from our camp in Mooloolaba with a little bit of an ankle injury and he's been a bit ginger for a few weeks,” Beveridge told media post-match.

“He's at the point where we thought he was going to play tonight but in the end we didn't take the risk. When we put the 29 in he was playing but he just didn't pull up so well the other day. Hopefully he's right for the next one. Time will tell."

Two others named in the original squad, Matthew Boyd and Travis Cloke, also missed the match against Brisbane but both are in line to return against Gold Coast, with Beveridge keen to field a strong combination to take on the Suns.

"We're hoping to [pick close to the best 22 against Gold Coast]. There's a number of players - Bonti, Matthew Boyd, Clokey - when we picked the 29 we anticipated that all three of those would play.

“All three have had a niggle or two over the last couple of weeks and we just didn't want to take any risks. We feel like we're training well but they just weren't quite right."

Competition for a place in the side to take on Collingwood in round one will be fierce with the Bulldogs' new recruits Tim English, Paddy Lipinski, Nathan Mullenger-McHugh and Lewis Young all impressing against Brisbane, and several players who missed last year's Grand Final win - Stewart Crameri, Matt Suckling and Lin Jong - also pressing hard for selection.

Jong in particular looked lively against the Lions, his second half impressing Beveridge.

"Lin got us going in that third quarter. That combination of his forward play and his  midfield really came to the fore which was fantastic and that's where he's aiming to influence the competition and establish himself in the 22 so that was encouraging.

“A handful of players really started to churn and get their teammates going in that third quarter and he was probably the one who stood out the most."

After next Thursday's final JLT Community Match against Gold Coast, the Bulldogs will kick off their premiership defence against Collingwood at the MCG on Friday March 24.