The Western Bulldogs' premiership prospects are getting better by the week with Josh Dunkley out of quarantine and fellow star midfielder Adam Treloar eyeing a long-awaited AFL return.
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Dunkley missed the Bulldogs' top-of-the-table victory over Melbourne last Saturday night after he was forced into quarantine because he attended a COVID-19 exposure site.
But the 24-year-old will slot straight back in for Saturday's clash with Adelaide at Mars Stadium in Ballarat.
"It's a shame we haven't been able to keep him involved as much as we would have liked," coack Luke Beveridge said of Dunkley.
"We've zoomed him into a meeting or two but other than that it's touching base with him and there. He seems to have copped it alright."
Treloar, who has been out with an ankle injury since round 10, is progressing well.
The former Collingwood ace could be back as soon as next week when the ladder-leading Bulldogs face Essendon.
"If you remember back I was preparing everyone for probably the worst case scenario, in that (Treloar's recovery) might've taken a lot longer than we would've thought," Beveridge said.
"We've just got to be careful we don't compromise the team as far as sharing the load goes but he'll be available pretty quickly."
But the return of Dunkley has been offset by losing key defender Alex Keath to a hamstring injury and Ed Richards (concussion) against the Demons.
Forward Josh Schache was used down back when Keath was injured and could be given another go in defence.
Australian Associated Press
