WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says his team is happy to host a final at either Melbourne venue after all but securing its place in the top six with a "significant" win over North Melbourne on Saturday.
 
The Bulldogs can only fall to seventh position now if they lose to the Brisbane Lions next Saturday and Adelaide wins its final two matches, against West Coast and Geelong.
 
They have an 11-2 record at Etihad Stadium this season and have played only four games at the MCG in the past three seasons, with a 2-2 record.
 
Beveridge, whose fleet-footed team flourishes under the Etihad Stadium roof, said he would get behind any preference the Bulldogs' executive had.
 
"It doesn't matter to me and I've been asked by our CEO David Stevenson and (president) Peter Gordon as well," he said after Saturday's 23-point win.  
 
"Ultimately we'd like to think we can win on the MCG and win on Etihad, so it doesn't really matter to me.
 
"The AFL will ultimately make that decision, but if David or Peter want it held somewhere in particular and want to lobby that way, I'll support that."
 
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan this week said the only chance the Bulldogs would have of hosting a final at Etihad Stadium would be if they faced Adelaide, with a clash against Richmond certain to be played at the MCG.
 
Regardless of the venue, Beveridge said Saturday's gutsy win, which was secured with a four-goal burst in the final quarter, could prove important going into finals.
 
"To win another arm-wrestle type game against a very good opponent … it's a reminder that you can hold sway in the heat of the battle," he said.
 
"When it's an opponent that's played in a preliminary final recently and is touted to press at the end of the year, that gives us a bit more belief.
 
"We knew coming into these last three games that [playing in] Perth, Melbourne and then Brisbane was going to be a challenge for us.
 
"But our boys have done really well to recover and we obviously made six changes and breathed a bit of life and fresh legs in there."
 
The Bulldogs emerged unscathed on Saturday, but Beveridge said he'd consider resting players for next Saturday's trip to the Gabba "if there's one or two that have gone to the wire this afternoon and it's too risky to play them".
 
"Whether we need to drain the Footscray side or not, (VFL coach) Ash Hansen might hold me up against a wall this week, but we'll wait and see what happens," he said.
 
"Obviously the AFL side takes priority."
 
A VFL regular for the past six weeks, first-year defender Zaine Cordy made his AFL debut on Saturday as the substitute and got his chance in the final quarter.
 
Beveridge said the father-son selection had earned his place in the team and started in the green vest to give the Bulldogs some insurance against a taller North Melbourne side that won the contested marks 23-11.  
 
He finished with one possession and two tackles, but did enough to impress his coach.
 
"He didn't kick a goal with his first kick in footy, but that defensive action when he laid that tackle in our forward 50 and we got a goal from it, that's as crucial a touch as any first-gamer's ever had," Beveridge said.