WESTERN Bulldogs midfielder Daniel Cross says his side would love to claim St Kilda's scalp in order to be considered a serious premiership contender.

The Dogs have three wins from their first five starts but have only managed to beat opposition now outside the top eight.

Losses to Collingwood (38 points) and the Brisbane Lions (22 points) have tempered the external expectation that followed the Dogs' dominance of the pre-season competition.

Cross said a win this week would boost their confidence, despite the Saints missing star forward Nick Riewoldt.

"They've got All-Australian players all throughout their side so they're very strong and they've had a really good start to the year," he said.

"We've been a bit up and down.

"These top sides … we really need to get a scalp like St Kilda so what better place to start than Friday night."

The 27-year-old said the Dogs wanted a "clean, tough fight" and a performance similar to that produced in their NAB Cup grand final victory over the Saints.

"St Kilda is one of the favourites for the flag and everyone tips them as being a top-four side," he said.

"In that sense, they're more of a formidable opponent.

"You just have to play each side on their merits and each week you have to play extremely well to beat each opponent."

Cross admitted the inclusion of best and fairest winner Matthew Boyd would have a huge bearing on the Dogs' midfield rotations but said that, with or without him, they would be prepared for their opponents.

"We do so much homework on each side but we probably do a little bit more on teams like St Kilda and Geelong," he said.

"We rate them as just about the best in the competition - a team that is well spread.

"They've got some more speed into their midfield now, which makes them even more a formidable midfield.

"They're as good as it gets."

Cross joined Ryan Griffen, Barry Hall and Shaun Higgins for light duties on Tuesday but said there was nothing sinister about his absence from the training session.

"Training loads are very scientific these days and mine have been a bit high so I had a bit of a light day today," he said.

"With the six-day breaks and [the fact] I'm not getting any younger, a little bit of a rest today was what was needed."