WE’RE UP FOR CHALLENGE: BULLDOGS

THE Western Bulldogs are having to come to terms with the “big loss” of one of their stars for this weekend’s preliminary final, all the while sweating on the fitness of their captain.

Small forward Cody Weightman sustained a concussion in the semi-final win over Brisbane and will miss this Saturday’s grand final qualifier against Port Adelaide in accordance with the AFL’s concussion protocols.

He could be joined on the sidelines by skipper Marcus Bontempelli, who twisted his knee in Saturday night’s lastgasp victory.

Bontempelli went in for scans and has been cleared of serious damage, but speculation that the club would make a call on his fitness on Monday came to nothing.

Even if Bontempelli loses his race against the clock, Bulldogs star Taylor Duryea said the side was confident it could get the job done at Adelaide Oval.

“We feel like we’ve got enough depth to cover anyone,” Duryea said.

“You never want to lose or be without your star players and your captain, that’s for sure. (But) I don’t think if we were without ‘Bont’ this weekend that we would feel that we aren’t up to the challenge or that our midfield can’t get the job done.

“That’s certainly not the case. We’ve definitely got a lot of faith in the guys that we’ve got.”

Duryea said Jason Johannisen was an option to replace Weightman in the forward line.