The Western Bulldogs could be about to unveil another son of a gun this weekend with Rhylee West set to be named in their initial squad of 26 to take on Collingwood.
West, the son of Bulldogs legend Scott West, is banging on the door of a senior debut and while Luke Beveridge was confident the 18-year-old would play at some stage this year, the Doggies coach was keen to make sure he was ready when he got his chance.
“We would love to give Rhylee an opportunity but what we dont want to do with our brand new players, and Rhylee is one of those, is throw them to the wolves and put them out there before theyre totally ready. We want it to be a good experience for them,” Beveridge said at Whitten Oval on Thursday.
“Rhylee has shown some terrific signs and whether hes ready to pull the competition apart, no first-year player does it straight away I suppose, but hopefully we can get him in the team before the end of the year. It may be this week, but it may be a bit longer, too.”
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One player who looks almost certain to come into the side is Taylor Duryea after an impressive performance in the VFL last week, having been sidelined since round four due to a hip injury.
But veteran defender Dale Morris, who is on the comeback trail from a second ACL injury in as many years, still has a while to go before being considered for senior selection with Beveridge hoping the 36-year-old will return to the VFL next weekend.
Rhylee West, with his father Scott West, could make his debut on Sunday against the Magpies.Credit:Eddie Jim
“It took him two or three games last time to get his game fitness back up, even though he still looks like he could be in one of the Marvel movies, hell just need to get his wits about him at state level and then well see if we can get him into the AFL team after that,” Beveridge said.
“Its like hes waiting outside the match committee door isnt it? [Is it] frustrating? He understands. He went out and trained with the group a couple of weeks ago and he didnt re-hurt himself but he just felt some awareness and so it probably just set him back another week and hes feeling good again.”
Beveridge would have no qualms in Morris playing on again in season 2020 if he managed to finish this season strongly.
“Dale and I probably talk every fortnight to three weeks about it and like all his predecessors whove finished up like Bob [Murphy] and Boydy [Matthew Boyd] and maybe one or two others, my philosophy has always been and my transparency with them has always been if we feel like you can make a difference next year, lets just go on if you want to,” he said.
“But thats not solely my decision, its a list management decision and well discuss it at that level – theres six of us on that committee – but theres every chance.”
Two players who definitely wont be leaving anytime soon are Morris fellow premiership stars Caleb Daniel and Josh Dunkley who both signed new three-year deals during the week.
“Those two in particular are having outstanding seasons and starting to lead the chaRead More – Source
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