Western Bulldogs Luke Beveridge has launched a staunch defence of his team selections in the aftermath of their defeat at the hands of St Kilda.
Beveridge opted to play inexperienced key position player Ryan Gardner in Sunday night's clash rather than the likes of Jackson Trengove or tall defender Zaine Cordy.
The premiership coach defended a number of his selections on Wednesday, saying he was simply rewarding training form in the first match back following the AFL shutdown.
"I know there’s conjecture about selection but you’ve got to understand the timing between round one and two, there’s a lot that has happened," Beveridge told reporters on Wednesday.
"The boys have been away from the club, come back and we’ve decided to reward training form. We played some match practice in the lead-up to the round two game.
"Toby (McLean) will be considered and he’s a chance to come in.
"Zaine (Cordy) is another one that will be considered this week. They’ve got enough bigger forwards for us to make sure we cover that."
Beveridge also said Tom Liberatore was making progress after missing the first two rounds of the season and was intention to play against the GWS Giants on Friday night.
“(Liberatore) was just a week or two behind everyone and he hasn’t played in a long time," he said.
"He had a really good session on Saturday and he’s come through that with flying colours and that was probably the last one he needed to tick off, so we’ll definitely consider him for Friday night."
The Dogs will face off against the GWS Giants on Friday, marking the first time they've met since last season's high-profile finals clash.