WASTING no time acting on his pre-game hint of a positional shake-up, Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge swung the magnets at the start of the third term to combat Sydney star Brodie Grundy's dominance in the ruck.

In response to Grundy's massive performance, Rory Lobb was thrown into the ruck to curb the damage, while Tim English slid to full-back on Hayden McLean.

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While this tactical shift suggested a potential lack of confidence in English's rucking ability, Beveridge clarified post-match that deploying Lobb was always part of the plan to combat Grundy's physical presence.

Though he praised his players' persistence amid the constant positional shuffling, the Bulldogs coach admitted certain match-ups remained an issue.

"Our guys found Brodie Grundy too strong; he just dominated," Beveridge said post-game.

"If you go and have a look at his hit-out statistics, you'd need four hands to count them on. Well, you’d need about seven hands, or 14 hands, to count them on. So, that was a challenge."

When asked if English was carrying an injury, Beveridge dismissed concerns over a stiff back, crediting Grundy's sheer size, strength, and disciplined jumping for overwhelming the 2023 All-Australian ruck.

"He was obviously a bit stiff in the back over the break, but no, he’s not (carrying anything)," Beveridge said.

"Ultimately, some of the ruckmen in the competition — and Brodie's one of them — are just a huge handful for anyone because they're so big and strong. I thought Grundy jumped a bit better than he has at the centre bounce. He gave away about five centre-bounce free kicks against Brisbane last week, encroaching over that midline, but he didn't seem to do that at all tonight. So, no — you just have to give credit to their ruckman."

Meanwhile, defender Connor Budarick's interrupted year continues after limping off with an ankle injury and being ruled out at halftime, while fellow defender Nick Coffield failed to return following a nasty knee to the head in the fourth quarter.

"My understanding is it's a lower leg injury, which is usually the simple term for a syndesmosis-type injury," Beveridge said of Budarick. 

"As to the extent ... we won't be able to tell you until we have a look at it with the radiographer."

Regarding Coffield's HIA, Beveridge added: "The doctors instigated that. I haven't seen the replay, but he got clipped ... I don't have an answer for you on how he is just yet; that'll come in due course."

Sydney made six changes for the clash — some forced and some by choice — with Joel Amartey, Sam Wicks, Logan McDonald, and Peter Ladhams sidelined by injury, while Riley Bice and Malcolm Rosas jnr were omitted.

Asked if forwards Tom Papley and Braeden Campbell would be considered for selection against Fremantle next week, Sydney coach Dean Cox responded that both players completed a major training session on Friday morning.

He noted that while Papley has done everything required to make himself available, the club's match committee will still need to discuss how quickly to transition him back into the side.

"He's done everything he needs to do to put his name up," Cox said.

"It's just about how quickly you bring these players back into the team. Hopefully, he's done enough that he can warrant selection."

When asked if the injuries to McDonald and Ladhams occurred during training, Cox confirmed they did, explaining that McDonald's injury happened during the final session of the week. 

"It was really close to the game, so we just couldn't take that risk," he said. 

"There's still some doubt for next week with Logan as well, so we'll work through what we do in the next couple of days."

Cox added that the club remains unsure if McDonald's injury will extend past next week, noting they will assess his recovery further following Sunday's training session.