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Central District wingman Adam Switala has failed in his desperate bid to front Glenelg in the grand final clash at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.
The dual premiership player pulled up sore after a training session on Saturday and has been ruled out of the premiership decider.
After damaging his cartilage in a training mishap at Adelaide Oval on the eve of the qualifying final, Switala underwent surgery to repair the knee.
The Bulldogs were confident he would be available this week after successfully negotiating training last week. But after he emerged from a hectic session on Saturday with soreness, the club had no hesitation in calling an end to his season.
"He'd done really well and we were quietly confident he would be right," Bulldogs coach Roy Laird said.
"He's done some work and moved fairly freely last week but he was not quite right on Saturday. We were hoping he would come up but it is probably a week too early."
Switala suffered the injury when he landed awkwardly in a training drill.
The failure of Switala to prove his health means the Bulldogs could take the same 21 who conquered Glenelg in the second semi-final into the confrontation.
Luke Cowan, a three-times premiership player who struggled for form this season, is not an option because of knee soreness.
The Bulldogs had two solid training sessions last week and had a work-out at Elizabeth last night. They will train at AAMI Stadium tomorrow night and Max Basheer Oval on Saturday.
"We trained hard and didn't slacken off," Laird said. The manner of Glenelg's preliminary final victory over Sturt at Adelaide Oval on Saturday was no surprise for Laird.
"They had hardness around the ball which we expected," Laird said. "They were impressive up forward and (Todd) Grima is a key.
"They've got a few targets and their midfield did well."
Courtesy of The Advertiser
Story by Warren Partland