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Full Noise by SN
Important update on 1476AMClubs will be reluctant: Has Origin caused Dogs’ injury carnage?
SEN • April 24th, 2026 11:34 am
Is the Western Bulldogs’ season already over in terms of premiership contention?
That was the question posed by Kane Cornes to David King on SEN Breakfast after the Dogs went down 60-126 to the Swans at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
While the Dogs have a 4-3 record, their injury list is continuing to grow exponentially, with Rory Lobb (hamstring) and Aaron Naughton (neck) last night joining the likes of Sam Darcy (knee), Tim English (knee), Tom Liberatore (concussion), James O’Donnell (hamstring), Connor Budarick (hamstring), Arty Jones (hamstring) and Cody Weigtman (knee) on the sidelines.
Even though Cornes had the Dogs as his pre-season premiership pick, he thinks the injury bug may have hit too hard for them to fulfil their potential in 2026.
His co-host King believes the Dogs must hold on for dear life in the coming weeks without some big names out.
Cornes: “It's Round 7, so it's early for your season to be over in terms of being a premiership contender.
“Is that where you see them at now, the Dogs?”
King: “Well, they've just got to find a way to hang in for a six-week block, don't they? That’s hard to do.”
Cornes: “Can they do that?”
King: “They've got some winnable games, so I think they can.
“It's all about where you finish on the table after that. They’re not going to, in my opinion, finish top two or four, which means you’re going to be travelling through a finals series. It's a big advantage to give to the opposition.
“I think once they got this spate of injuries, then it was always going to be tough, wasn't it?
“Have you jumped off, because they were your premiership selection?”
Cornes: “They were, and with a full complement they had shown that they were absolutely in that conversation… this is very unfortunate.
“Tim English is… other than Daicos, the most important player to any side. He’s been the biggest of outs.
“Then you have Sam Darcy (out for the year) and Aaron Naughton (going down with a neck injury) last night.”
The Bulldogs were the most represented team during Origin with six players taking the field, and with all of English, Naughton, Lobb and Darcy going down as well as other players around the comp, Cornes pondered whether clubs will be reluctant to let their players feature in state footy in the future.
Cornes: “I don't know if there's any link between State of Origin and that hammy for Rory Lobb, but how reluctant are clubs going to be to allow their players to play State of Origin?”
Edmund: “Do you think the legacy of Origin is continuing now on April 24.”
Cornes: “Certainly, at some clubs (the Origin injury legacy is continuing). Has Hogan been the same player? Has Taylor been? Has Ah Chee? There’s carnage everywhere.
“Dangerfield's just come back from his injury.”
Edmund: “Lobb had been fine though. I agree with you to some extent.
“Clubs had been saying this privately, that there's a cumulative load to these things, whether we can say that still, I don't profess to know.
“But the bottom line is, he's not going to have him (Lobb) for another month.”
King: “I doubt we’ll see it in its true form. It’ll be a 15-minute quarter… I don’t think it’ll be anywhere near a game.”
Edmund: “I think the timing of it will be huge as well, and if it is going to be March, as has been forecast, then that is a lot better than the middle of February, particularly if we're going to be playing over in Perth.”
The Dogs next face the 5-1 Dockers at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.
