AS HIS players busied themselves with getting reacquainted with the Manuka Oval surface on Saturday, Rodney Eade was taking in the crisp Canberra afternoon and marvelling at the greenness of the grass.

The Bulldogs touched down in the nation's capital mid-afternoon and headed straight to the ground that will house Sunday's clash with the Swans for what was a brief run-around at their "home-away-from-home".

"Beautiful weather, isn't it?" Eade said, shortly after arriving at Manuka.

"Ground's in great nick, and we'd certainly prefer to play in Melbourne, but it's fantastic to be here.

"The ground is about the same size at the MCG, and if the weather holds like this, it will be fantastic. It certainly beats playing at the SCG."

Eade said it was terrific to hear that all reserved seats for the game have now sold out, and even more encouraging to see just how much the local support for the club has grown this year alone.

"That's good (it's sold out). I think the Swans are going to have a lot of support here, there's no doubt, because it's so close to their home," he said.

"There seems to be a few Bulldogs who have flown up as well, and hopefully with the way we play and the way we're going, there will be a bit of support for us.

"The feedback I get from people at the club has been very positive about our acceptance here in Canberra, so that's good as well."

The Bulldogs travelled north on a bitter note, having witnessed the mid-season retirement of Brett Montgomery on Friday after the veteran was forced to call it quits owing to a neck injury.

Eade conceded it "would have been nice" for Montgomery to "go out on a good note", but was confident his players won't allow the emotion of Friday's announcement to affect them this weekend.

"I haven't spoken to them individually, but I think the players were aware of it before he announced it yesterday," he said.

"A few of his closer mates knew about it, but it was a bit of a shock to some, and very disappointing.

"Even though he's only been back 18 months, he had a huge effect on the group with the way he went about it, and certainly with the way he played and his hardness.

"He'll be certainly missed, but the players will get on with it pretty quickly."

On the eve of Sunday's game, Eade said the side isn't without injury concerns and could still be without Luke Darcy and Brad Johnson, as the talented duo has been suffering general soreness throughout the week.

"We've got a couple of concerns," he said.

"We've brought up 24 (players), and we'll wait until the final thing. We think Luke Darcy will play, Brad (Johnson) is probably a bit over 50-50, so we're confident he'll probably play."

Eade also said the MRI carried out on Ryan Griffen's recently-strained hamstring has produced "pleasing" results, as he has escaped muscle damage and will be "judged on his symptoms" ahead of next weekend.