First on Saturday and then well beyond, the Western Bulldogs must tackle the unknown in the AFL.

The Bulldogs are determined to farewell Barry Hall, Ben Hudson and Mitch Hahn with a win in the season-ending game against Fremantle on Saturday at Etihad Stadium.

But assistant coach Brett Montgomery admits opposition analysis has been tough this week because the Dockers are so ravaged by injury.

"The core they have in their lineup is such qualitythat we think they'll always be in the game," he said.

"Around the edges, there's a bit of the unknown."

Once a disappointing season is over, the Bulldogs then must appoint a new coach and make the mother of all decisions - rebuild, or try to reload for an immediate return to the top eight next year?

"We'll get this game out of the way and, hopefully, we'll go out in style," Montgomery said.

"Those types of decisions will really get thrashed out in the coming fortnight.

"If you get it wrong - if you overestimate or underestimate - you could make a really poor decision."

Montgomery paid tribute to Hall, Hudson and Hahn, saying they had all made massive contributions to the Bulldogs.

Hahn was delisted last season, but he stayed on as a mature-age rookie.

"He hasn't had any lesser impact than the other two over much shorter periods at the club," Montgomery said.

Montgomery said Hudson, as the Bulldogs' No.1 ruckman, set the tone of each game from the first bounce.

"No one in the competition, I think, has done it better - set the tone or the spirit of a game," he said.

"He hasn't always been the best player on the ground, but everyone has known from the first bounce what type of game he's setting up."

"The Beard" was also a cult figure among Bulldogs' fans with his rich thatch of facial hair and energetic personality.

Then there's Hall, the powerful forward whose career appeared shot when he left Sydney in 2009.

But he enjoyed two great years at the 'Dogs and overcame injuries earlier this year to end his career in a blaze of strong form.

"The one thing I can't get over with him is he hasn't lost anything in terms of power or speed," Montgomery said.

"Normally, that's the first thing to leave them, their power and sharpness, but I still haven't seen anyone able to go with him over the first five metres all year, apart from when he was playing on one leg.

"For our club, it's been a massive win-win."

As Hall bows out, youngster Liam Jones is showing strong signs as he continues to develop as a key forward.

"Like all other key forwards at the same age, he's going to struggle with consistency," said Montgomery, the Bulldogs' forward coach.

"But I just can't understand why he hasn't had a Rising Star nomination ... he's growing nice and steadily at the moment."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP