The Western Bulldogs and Ed Richards are both confident that the midfielder won't miss any action following a shoulder injury that failed to end the gun Dog's Thursday night outing against North Melbourne.
A collision with Kangaroos forward Cam Zurhaar in the third term forced Richards from the field and down to the rooms, with the Dogs ball-winner requiring attention on a suspected AC joint injury.
His coach is confident the Dogs have found some "good fortune" as Richards was able to see out the rest of the match after returning to the field and looks to have pulled up well in the aftermath.
"I thought it was going to be worse than what it seems to be," Luke Beveridge said post-game.
"It seems like a minor AC joint injury, which you can always play with. So, that's some good fortune for us."
Speaking to Channel 7, Richards said he felt "pretty good" after the 49-point win and is confident he won't be missing next week's matchup with Adelaide.
The Bulldogs have a nine-day turnaround for that game, giving Richards more time than usual to recover from his shoulder concern.
"It was a big hit," the 26-year-old said.
"Mess with the bull, you get the horns."
Ed Richards spoke to @cleary_mitch on his Cam Zurhaar hit | #AFLNorthDogs pic.twitter.com/Vid9Bz4vgc
— 7AFL (@7AFL) July 3, 2025
"I came off second best, but I feel pretty good now. It's not too sore, hopefully I pull up well. We have a bit of a longer break, which is nice.
"It was painful. Once I got down to the rooms, it started settling down a bit. It was a bit of carry-on by me towards the end."
The Western Bulldogs, who did not require tactical sub Lachie McNeil against the Roos, have moved into fourth on the ladder for the time being and could drop back to eighth by the end of the weekend should other results not go their way.
Their next opponent, Adelaide, currently sit level with them on 40 points ahead of their game against Melbourne on Sunday.
The two sides will meet at Marvel Stadium next Saturday at 1:20pm (AEST).
