AFL Team News | Round 14: Western Bulldogs make 3 changes for Fremantle clash, forward makes return from the sidelines
The Western Bulldogs have made three changes to the squad ahead of their Fremantle clash. Ed Richards and Cody Weightman have been cleared to return and Anthony Scott comes back to the senior side.
Forward Cody Weightman was injured ironically against Fremantle in the Western Bulldogs' first game of the season in Round 7. He dislocated his elbow after an awkward landing in a marking contest and underwent surgery that ruled him out of action.
After completing concussion protocols, Ed Richards has been cleared by medics after missing two games for the Bulldogs. He returned to full training on Saturday and has been cleared to face the Dockers.
Anthony Scott joins Harvey Gallagher, Joel Freijah, Ryley Sanders, and Caleb Daniel on the interchange bench from the VFL side.
Western Bulldogs coach excited to have his players back
After facing the Dockers in Round 7 earlier in the season, coach Luke Beveridge thinks a change in approach to the game will hand his Western Bulldogs side the win this time around. Beveridge said the team as a whole needs to step up, so all the focus is not just on their skipper Marcus Bontempelli.
In his pre-match interview on Friday morning according to the club's official website, he said:
“He was central to us achieving a winning game that day (against Collingwood), but with us, it’s about spreading the load and the depth of contribution...we’re going nowhere if we keep relying on the skipper.
“He’s having a really strong year and has had some extraordinary performances over his journey, but we need an even spread of contributors to beat Fremantle…we need to rely on everyone, and Marcus will just be one of the 23.”
Beveridge also said the return of Cody Weightman and Ed Richards was good news for the team as they take on the Dockers.
“When Cody went out of the team, he was I think our highest scoring forward, so we knew at that point we were going to need to do it a bit of a different way.” he said.
“I think by and large we’ve explored that and done okay with it, but (Cody) is a special player and it’s been a pretty decent layoff for him.
“We’ll have to look after him a little bit – we hope he can strike some form pretty quickly, so he’s a boost for us.
“Richo was just starting to get some momentum in the new role, and even in the Sydney game where he (went) out, they actually changed their tagging player to go to him because of the influence Richo was having, which is a great sign.
“He’s been able to train even though he hasn’t been able to play, so he shouldn’t miss a beat I don’t think.”
The coach also praised forward Rhylee West, who is going to cross the 50th game milestone on Saturday when the Western Bulldogs face Fremantle.