Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli remains no certainty to face North Melbourne on Saturday as he deals with a back issue.
Bontempelli was limited at training this week due to back spasms, with the Dogs star to undergo testing on Friday to determine his playing prospects for Round 16.
While the five-time Charles Sutton Medal winner is confident he will be ripe to line up against the Roos, Bontempelli will undergo fitness testing to give the club the clearest indication of his health.
Coach Luke Beveridge flagged Bontempelli's chances of playing were "above 50 per cent" when speaking to media on Friday at Whitten Oval.
"He's gonna have a little test," the premiership coach confirmed. "You may not see him out there, and you may not know whether or not he's playing.
"He seems OK, we just want to make sure. From a probability point of view, he's more on the above 50 per cent side. I can't tell you whether he's playing or not.
"It's just one of those back spasms where he's been a bit 'discy' from the tackle that he received. That can settle down or it can last for a bit longer. It has settled down and now it's just the bending and mobility aspect of it.
"He's pretty optimistic he's going to be OK."
The Western Bulldogs have Caleb Daniel, Buku Khamis and Anthony Scott on standby for Saturday's game should Bontempelli be ruled out of Beveridge's squad.
All three emergencies were dropped for this weekend, with Aaron Naughton and Sam Darcy returning from injury and suspension respectively while Oskar Baker has been rewarded with a recall following good form at the lower level.
The returns of Naughton and Darcy will see the Dogs rely on all four of their tall forwards for the first time this year, with Rory Lobb holding his place in the senior side with Jamarra Ugle-Hagan also named.
The Dogs face North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Saturday at 1:45pm (AEST), with a win potentially moving Beveridge's side into the top eight.
