WESTERN Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade believes the lingering hurt from last year's preliminary final loss to Geelong will see his players approach Friday night's clash with a steely resolve and a determined mindset.

Eade said the Bulldogs would remember the shattering 29-point defeat and the feelings it generated when they prepared to take on the joint ladder-leaders at Docklands.

"We take the fact that we lost and we were very disappointed from it," he said on Tuesday.

"The way the players were gutted by the loss and from the effort they put in … there were some really positive bits out of that game.

"We just weren't able to take our chances. If we had been able to kick straight, you never know about the result but certainly we would have been a lot closer.

"We've got to bring the same intensity we had that night. That's been missing a little bit at times so far this year."

The Cats will be without forward Cameron Mooney after he accepted a one-match ban for striking Scott Thompson.

Eade said the absence of the suspended Geelong goalkicker would not affect the Dogs’ approach to the game.

He said the Dogs would get back at least one player for the clash with Shaun Higgins available after a two-week groin strain, but would wait to test defender Ryan Hargrave until later in the week.

"Shaun is available, Hargrave we're still not sure, he was just jogging laps before but we're reasonably confident he'll be able to play," he said.

"Robert [Murphy] is out and it looks as though Andrejs Everitt will miss with a foot problem, and Dylan Addison has a bit of a sore knee."

Veteran forward Jason Akermanis said he wasn't daunted by the fact his 300th career match would be played against the grand finalists from the past two years.

"I don't care who you play; they're just like anyone else," he said.

"It's another four points on offer. They're certainly a team that's been up and going.

"You've got to do the same job every week. They might be a little bit better than most, but if you do the same things with the group we've got and the talent we've got and we play the kind of footy we want to, that will affect the result – not my milestone."