Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge admits he's scratching his head,
Beveridge has 14 players on his AFL club's injured list. And he's lost at least four of them for the rest of the season.
Liam Picken (concussion) and Lukas Webb (neck) won't play again this season, their fates confirmed on Tuesday.
The duo join Tom Liberatore (knee) and Bailey Dale (foot) in being ruled out for the year.
"Everyone here is sort of scratching their head and wondering why such a bad run of luck," Beveridge said.
While Webb suffered a season-ending injury in VFL ranks last weekend, Picken hasn't played since being knocked out in a March pre-season game.
But Beveridge backed Picken, who turns 32 next month, to extend his career next season.
"With the way Liam prepares himself and the athlete that he is, he's as much a chance as anyone to pick up where he left off," he said.
"And hopefully, maybe it prolongs his career a little bit. We're really hopeful we will get him back next year and he can reinvigorate his career."
Webb suffered a serious neck injury in VFL ranks last weekend, the latest in a string of injuries to impact on the 14th-placed Dogs.
Beveridge said the Bulldogs, ahead of Sunday's away game against second-placed West Coast, had little choice than to look at the spate of injuries as offering opportunities to other players.
"There's so many lads in there that are getting great exposure to AFL level and doing some really good things for different periods of the game," he said.
"That that is the way we're looking at it, more an opportunistic angle."
