Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has hosed down speculation about the future of ruck Tim English.
English is contracted until the end of 2029, but former Hawthorn great Jordan Lewis reported that the Bulldog was gettable at the end of the season.
"Old scoop Lewis, so Lewy, it's like he's gone up and given us half a scoop of vanilla," Beveridge quipped on Thursday.
"If he's going to speculate and make statements, he's got to give you the full scoop.
“Tim is contracted until the end of 2029, so a player of his ability and impact, he's secure here.
“It came out of left field for us, didn't know where it came from other than 'Lewy'.
"I don't know who he's been talking to, but we're not sure if there's any accuracy in any of that."
English's concussion issues this year have exposed their lack of ruck depth, with Lachie Smith getting a chance but only playing just two games, as the Dogs have instead utilised Rory Lobb extensively in English's absence.
They drafted Caleb May at the Mid-Season Rookie Draft to bolster that area of the ground.
Beveridge denied any friction between himself and English.
"(It was) a big surprise," Beveridge said of that report.
“Some of the things we were talking about this morning – where we need to improve – I'm having those conversations with all our players.
“They seem to be processing it pretty well, they're determined to improve, and Tim is no different.”
Beveridge also supported the AFL's India venture, with his club linked to playing a game in the subcontinent.
"It would be an exciting adventure and venture; it would be a huge performance challenge to go over there, play, come back, and either side of that, be able to win and stay on top of things. It would be an exciting opportunity if it happens in the future," he said.
"I reckon you'd have to time it, maybe before a bye, that would be ideal.
"When you think about the Indian passion for cricket and the groundswell of attention that's coming towards our game.
"They've got the grounds to be able to pull it off, too; it would be pretty exciting."
Meanwhile, Tom Liberatore will be available for the Dogs' match against St Kilda on Sunday, having been affected by concussion and knee issues in the first half of the season.
Beveridge also highlighted some of the issues the Bulldogs are seeking to address after an 8-6 start to the season, which contained some big losses highlighted by a percentage of 91.
"We don't score from clearance like we used to. You don't take Sam Darcy out of the forward line and all of a sudden fall apart on your scorability," Beveridge said.
"We think we've got it in us. We're not using the ball too well, but there's a chicken or egg mentality attached to that, there are certain vulnerabilities around the midfield battle, how opposition teams have got on top of us, how that has affected how we have supported our backline, so that has to be a huge focus, and we're not a good territory team.
"We don't keep it in there for long periods of time. We're very good at scoring from forward 50 stoppages in the past; we're a good forward half scoring team last year, it's dropped away. There are things we can do to improve the scope of that stuff.
"We're a team that needs to improve a hell of a lot to challenge the teams in the upper echelon on the ladder."
