Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade says captain Brad Johnson is in no doubt for Sunday's AFL clash with Carlton and is steadily overcoming the effects of a lingering Achilles injury.

The 33-year-old has been restricted to just five games this season by Achilles problems, and received another setback when he twisted his ankle in a tackle from Hawthorn's Cyril Rioli last Friday night.

But Eade said the 354-game veteran had recovered well from the ankle injury and his Achilles had improved significantly from two rounds ago, when he made his most recent comeback.

"His two games back now we've been reasonably pleased with his form, he's been playing okay, obviously without setting the world on fire," Eade said.

"The main thing was his Achilles, his ankle has settled down and will be fine but his Achilles has improved again from the Perth game (against West Coast in round 13).

"It's gone up a notch and he hasn't felt any effects this week, so it looks like it's on the up."

Eade said getting the Dogs' forwards to apply more defensive pressure had been a focus, highlighted by a newspaper article this week which showed they trailed the competition in scoring from turnovers inside their own attack.

While Eade said while his side's effort and intensity had mostly been at a good level, it had been made clear to the forwards they needed to improve in that area.

"I said during the week that we've been pleased with our effort and our intensity and our willingness to go hard at the footy, but there are some areas we need to tweak and that's certainly an area we need to get better at," he said.

"Most pressure and tackling situations is more about intent and your mindset more than anything else.

"We've obviously spoken about it a bit, but obviously that focus is going to increase week by week."

Midfield star Adam Cooney, who plays his 150th AFL match, said it was a crucial game if either side still hoped to make the top four, with both the Blues and Bulldogs starting the round two wins off fourth spot.

"We've got ourselves in a position now where we're really struggling to keep up with the top four sides, so it's a must-win for us," Cooney said.

"Carlton are in a similar position, so it's going to be a massive game."

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