Western Bulldogs ruck Tim English will play in the side's crucial final round meeting in Ballarat against the Adelaide Crows on Sunday afternoon.
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English, 22, was a late omission from the Bulldogs last game against the Greater Western Sydney Giants with sickness and also missed the teams previous hit-out in Ballarat against the Brisbane Lions.
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Having won seven of its past 10 games, the Bulldogs are strong favourites to beat Adelaide and secure tickets to September for the first time since the side lifted the premiership in 2016.
The Dogs could still qualify for finals if they lose Sunday's clash in Ballarat but would be at the mercy of Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Adelaide, who are also jostling for the final top-eight spot.
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says his side needs to remain focused on Adelaide and not look ahead towards the finals.
We've got to win this week - we don't want it to be in the hands of the gods where we lose and hope for percentage.
- Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge
"The feeling around the place is we've come this far and it'd be a bloody shame (not to qualify for finals)," Beveridge told reporters on Thursday morning.
"We need to keep our heads in it and just focus on beating Adelaide."
In recent weeks the Bulldogs have smashed GWS, Essendon and Fremantle, scoring more than 100 points in each of the victories
Beveridge has been weary of drawing comparisons to his 2016 premiership team but declared the offensive side of the Bulldogs game was the best it had been in his five years leading the club.
"When you've got such a different mix and they haven't played a lot of footy together, it takes them a little while to develop a trust in the team as much as anything," he said.
"Once you start to generate that commitment to the little things in the game... you know you've got something pretty exciting happening.
"Now the big focus is continuing to value that... there's a lot of off-ball stuff that's absolutely critical to the way we play."
The Bulldogs will have to break a string of disappointing form against the Crows to take home the victory, having not beaten Adelaide since its premiership season.
Outside of the obvious motivation of a finals appearance for Adelaide, Crows duo Brad and Matt Crouch will be looking for a victory back in their home-town of Ballarat.
The siblings have been on a tear this season, both averaging over 30 disposals a game and having kicked a combined 17 goals across 2019.
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