The Western Bulldogs were at their party-crashing best on Saturday afternoon, surviving a late surge from a Melbourne Demons outfit characterised by spirit, to claim eighth place on the ladder.

The result relegated the vanquished Demons to the Wildcard, where 10th-placed Carlton await, while the Bulldogs have earned the right to host Collingwood in the other Wildcard fixture.

If the result went the other way, the AFL would have been treated to the first Collingwood v Carlton final in decades.

Neither side came away from the contest unscathed, however, with the Bulldogs counting the cost of an injury to yet another key position player, following Aaron Naughton's ankle issue.

The headband-sporting spearhead was enjoying a day out prior to the unfortunate injury, registering two goals from 15 disposals and nine marks before his day ended early in the third stanza.

He faces a race against the clock to be fit for the clash with Collingwood next weekend.

"It's a lateral ligament injury," Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said afterwards.

"They can settle down really quickly. That's just a bunch of strained ligaments. He ices it, it settles, he doesn't train much, and hopefully he'll be OK. But I can't tell you emphatically whether he'll come up."

Ruckman Tim English, suffering from medial ligament damage to his left knee, faces a similar race against the clock.

"I thought when I was asked the question a couple of weeks ago it'd be unlikely just given the nature of the injury," Beveridge said.

"He's doing his best to get back. I couldn't tell you either way. We'll see how that unfolds and whether or not he can get up.

"Unfortunately, the nature of the injury is terrible for a ruck because of what they do. They throw their bodies at each other at the centre bounce, so that probably compounds the decision-making process a little bit.

"We'll work through it. The good thing is he's up and running, and he's doing his best to come back. We'll wait and see."

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Beloved midfielder Tom Liberatore was managed on the weekend, with the club sending the 34-year-old for an arthroscope on his troublesome knee on Sunday.

The procedure means he's unlikely to play again for his boyhood club this season, unless they can pull a rabbit out of a hat and go on a fairytale finals run.

"He was not even a third of the way through the session on Thursday, and he had to come off, and now, based on what's happening in one of those knees, he needs a tidy up," Beveridge said.

"For him to come back and play, we'd need to win a few in a row now. But we believe we can.

"He'll be off legs for a little while, so we'll see how it happens. I don't want to go on the shady side. It's best just to stay neutral because he'll be up and about supporting his teammates. But he'll go into surgery tomorrow."

Emerging Demons forwards Daniel Turner and Matthew Jefferson also appeared to injure a knee each in the contest, testing the forward stocks of a side already without the luxury of Jacob van Rooyen, due to suspension.

Coach Steven King chose to remain his positive self, having left an opportunity for a week off this September on the table.

"You find a bit more out about everyone, your players, yourself, and how I handled the week leading up to it. It's all part of the journey and a really good learning experience," the first-year coach said, post-match.

"As we sit here today, one season finishes and a new one starts. We had 15 wins. Our goal at the start of the year was to play finals, and that's what we're going to do. I'm really proud of our group and really looking forward to the opportunity that lies ahead for us.

"We're 23 games into this journey with me and us all together. When we're at our best, and we're firing, our game looks really sharp and in good nick. But we're still evolving. We've still got some young players that are discovering themselves and where they're at.

"I don't look at any missed opportunity as a disappointment. For me, it builds resilience, and it steers you on another path to keep improving and get better. That's what we're all here to do."

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