THE WESTERN Bulldogs have made five changes to their team set to take on Essendon on Saturday night, with experienced pair Dale Morris and Shaun Higgins among the inclusions.
Morris was a late withdrawal from the team that lost to West Coast in round 19 before last weekend's bye with groin soreness while Higgins missed the same game with knee soreness.
Morris was a late withdrawal from the team that lost to West Coast in round 19 before last weekend's bye with groin soreness while Higgins missed the same game with knee soreness.
The pair's availability is timely, given the Dogs have lost Tom Williams to a season-ending broken foot, and Justin Sherman to a bout of plantar fasciitis, which is expected to sideline him for a few weeks.
The other changes include Lukas Markovic in for fellowbackman James Mulligan, Christian Howard for Ed Barlow, and Nathan Djerrkura for Andrew Hooper.
"With Williams and Sherman out, they've been replaced by two other experienced players and hopefully they can give us a bit of tightness and run out of the back six," coach Rodney Eade told Bulldogs TV on Thursday night.
Adam Cooney, as expected, has not been named and will miss again with his knee soreness while young ruckman Ayce Cordy will have to wait at least another week to make his AFL debut.
Eade said the team had benefitted from the recent bye, where the players were given four days off from training.
He also said they had taken confidence from their comeback effort against West Coast the week before, which was influenced by solid performances from Robert Murphy, Barry Hall, Daniel Giansiracusa, Daniel Cross and Matthew Boyd.
"I think our leaders really led the way and hopefully they can do that again on Saturday night against the Bombers," he said.
The Dogs are looking to assemble a 45,000-plus crowd for the EJ Whitten Cup clash with the Bombers, who will be keen to solidify their spot in the eight with a victory.
Eade said the match loomed as significant for both sides given the Dogs now faced four must-win games to keep their September aspirations alive.
"We're trying to make the finals and Essendon is in the eight and is fighting hard to maintain their spot," he said.
"We're coming off the bye and the rest was fantastic for the players, even though we got some injuries out of the last game.
"Last game against West Coast was very disappointing in the first one and half quarters, and then to show the fight back and spirit of the club was fantastic.
"To be able to get in front and not hang on was a little bit disappointing but I think there were a lot of positives to come out of the game, especially the young players who played."
Jennifer Witham covers Western Bulldogs news for the AFL Website. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenWitham.
