HAVING proven they can match it with the best teams in the competition, the Western Bulldogs will head into Sunday's clash with Melbourne in the more unfamiliar position as favourites, but coach Luke Beveridge says the club is prepared for the challenge.
The Bulldogs have beaten two of the top four sides on the ladder and came close to being the first team to topple Fremantle last week, when they lost by 13 points to the undefeated Dockers.
Beveridge said the club had already experienced heading into a game as favourites and losing (against St Kilda in round six), and it had learned from that encounter.
"We confronted it against St Kilda and the Saints were terrific and got over the top of us. So it's not foreign this year, but there's no doubt it maybe presents a different challenge with the way you go in with your mindset," Beveridge said.
"We just need to make sure we get our players in a good space and they're ready for the battle.
"We had a really strong performance last week and we'll take some real positives out of that."
The Dogs' 4-3 start to the year has surprised many, with the club's exciting batch of younger players adding a more consistent element to their game. Beveridge said the first two months of the year had given the Bulldogs optimism about what lies ahead.
"We know that our best is good enough, and that's brilliant. We've been able to establish that, and we've got to work with that now and make sure we don't miss out on opportunities that are right in front of us," the first-year coach said.
After being smashed in the ruck last week by Fremantle giant Aaron Sandilands – Sandilands won 50 hit-outs and the Dogs combined for 13 – the club has resisted recalling senior ruckman Will Minson to face the Demons.
Beveridge said the Dogs are pleased with the signs shown by Ayce Cordy, and the pinch-hitting work of Tom Boyd and Jordan Roughead.
"We probably haven't had too much of a traditional approach week-to-week. We've done lots of things," he said.
"At this point in time Will doesn't fit into it at AFL level this week, but that's not to say he won't come in and fit into it next week.
"We've gone about it in different ways from week-to-week and at some point Will will be a part of that."
Cordy is one of three of the club's five father-son players to be selected to face the Demons at the MCG, alongside Mitch Wallis and Lachie Hunter.
The merits of the father-son rule and northern academies has been debated this week after the AFL confirmed its new points-based bidding system would be introduced for this year's draft.
Dogs president Peter Gordon told AFL.com.au father-sons and academies should be scrapped to ensure a pure draft.
Beveridge said it is "risky" under the new system to take a player if it costs an early draft pick and sees other selections push to the end of the draft.
"I know the points system has been supported, but the thing is, you'd want to be sure if you're going to give up your picks. It can set you back a fair way," he said.
"If you pick one or two players and miss out for one or two years on bringing in more talent … It's not just about one or two quality players, it's about having a spread of five or six over a couple of years.
"If you set yourself back by being way back in the next draft, you just have to make the right decision because it's risky. You don't know what's going to transpire with your own list."
