TOM LIBERATORE has been cleared of internal damage after a heavy knock to the back in a marking contest on Saturday night.

It was initially feared the tough Western Bulldogs midfielder had suffered internal injuries in the clash with Jayden Short late in the second quarter of the Dogs' 10-point win over Richmond.

The Bulldogs midfielder hobbled to the bench and did not play any further part in the game, leaving the venue during the third quarter to be assessed at hospital.

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The club tweeted on Sunday morning that scans had given Liberatore the all-clear.

On Saturday night, however, there was concern.

"We don't totally know yet," Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said of Liberatore's condition at his post-match press conference.

"He's had one scan that came back positive that he internally he's OK at this point, but they've got to do a number of other ones to make sure that he's OK, so I can't give you a definitive answer on that."

Asked whether Liberatore had suffered fractured ribs, Beveridge said the midfielder had yet to undergo an X-ray so he didn't know. 

Forward Jake Stringer was instrumental to the Bulldogs' win over the Tigers, overcoming a quiet first half to kick four second-half goals.

The turning point for Stringer appeared to come midway through the third term when he was summoned to the bench after missing a tackle on Anthony Miles that ultimately led to a Richmond goal.

Five talking points: Western Bulldogs v Richmond

Beveridge said he had given Stringer "a bit of olden-day" spray and praised the forward's response.

"We know how capable Jake is. He's such an important player for us, his brilliance is on show week to week and as I've said previously he's doing everything he can to work into a mode of consistent performance," Beveridge said.

"I don't do that very often, but he responded quite emphatically (and) obviously had a significant influence on the outcome in the end."

After dropping Will Minson, the Bulldogs opted to combat in-form Richmond ruckman Shaun Hampson with Jordan Roughead and Jack Redpath.

Hampson led the Tigers to a 56-26 win in the hit-outs and Beveridge said the Bulldogs would look to tinker with their ruck team in coming weeks.

"Obviously we went in a little bit differently tonight with Jordan and 'Redders' pinch-hitting in the ruck and they both did a tremendous job with that, but that's probably not the template we're after. It's not going to be our 'one-wood' as our ruck set-up goes," Beveridge said.

Beveridge said the Bulldogs would consider recalling Tom Boyd next round, but said no one from the Bulldogs' VFL team had demanded selection with their performances in the win over Richmond's VFL team on Saturday.

WATCH: Luke Beveridge's full post-match press conference