THE WESTERN Bulldogs will have their depth tested after losing forward Jake Stringer to a knee injury and midfielder Josh Dunkley to a dislocated shoulder in the thrilling win over Richmond.



Stringer twisted his right knee when tackled by Brandon Ellis in the third quarter at Etihad Stadium, before Dunkley's left shoulder was dislocated in an attempted tackle later in the term.

WATCH: Stringer, Dunkley go down in third term

On Stringer, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said: "I think it's a medial. Whether it's meniscus or ligament, I couldn't tell you. It could be both."

Dunkley's dislocated shoulder was put back in, but the coach expected him to be sidelined "for a little while".

Both will have scans to determine the severity of their injuries.

Beveridge said the injuries could open the door for midfielder Mitch Wallis to return against West Coast next Friday night after two matches in the VFL following a long recovery from a broken leg.



WATCH: Luke Beveridge's full post-match media conference

Richmond let a 32-point second-quarter lead slip on Saturday night, with the Bulldogs storming home in the second half on the back of brilliant midfielder Marcus Bontempelli, who finished with 27 possessions, 10 tackles and a goal.

Beveridge said his players were "showing how big their hearts are" with their gritty performances this season, but the team was making hard work of its wins.

As well as Bontempelli, Beveridge praised forward Clay Smith, who kicked four goals, including two back-to-back in the final term to give his team the lead, and setting up another for Lachie Hunter.

Full match coverage and statistics

"He didn't have the best of starts tonight Clay, and we challenged him a bit at quarter-time, just to sort a couple of things out," Beveridge said.

"He was tremendous and he got us going. To kick a couple of pressure goals was really important.

"He's a really important part of our future."