Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge is determined to ensure his side doesn't underestimate St Kilda's makeshift forward line in their AFL clash.
Operating without attacking mainstays Max King and Tim Membrey, who are sidelined with injuries, the Saints kicked just 10 goals and ranked 12th for scoring in round one.
But it was enough to upset a woefully inefficient Fremantle as returned coach Ross Lyon's defence held firm.
Beveridge is wary of the Saints' inexperienced forward mix, led by second-year player Mitch Owens and round-one debutants Mattaes Phillipou and Anthony Caminiti.
Former Bulldogs backman Zaine Cordy has also been temporarily moved forward by St Kilda after being recruited to bolster their defence.
"They did an amazing job with a bit of a makeshift set-up and some young guys who haven't played much footy," Beveridge said.
"Sometimes that can really bite you, and it obviously bit Fremantle last week, so we'll respect that and be prepared for it."
The Bulldogs will be without gun midfielder Adam Treloar (hamstring) and off-season recruit Rory Lobb (ankle) at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night, with the key pair also likely to miss the round-three clash with Brisbane.
But tall defender Liam Jones has been cleared of a neck injury by specialists and will take his place in the back-line alongside fellow talls Alex Keath and Josh Bruce.
Beveridge urged the trio to assert their authority against the young St Kilda forwards.
"You hope your players go out with the right combative attitude in a disciplined way," Beveridge said.
"I won't be instructing them to go out and take any perceived advantage from the youth and inexperience.
"But I'll expect our guys to go out and own their positions and play an adversarial game to ensure that plays on the opposition's mind more than ours.
"We need to start on the right foot with that."
Beveridge conceded the Bulldogs shot themselves in the foot with poor ball-use and decision-making throughout their round-one thrashing from Melbourne.
"The boys have really turned their minds towards making sure we get a better result with that," Beveridge said.
"Part of that will be striking a balance forward of centre, making sure our choices and who we go to and how are ultimately better than they were last week."
Bulldogs' 2016 premiership star Jason Johannisen was a big-name casualty from the round-one thrashing, dropped to the reserves to find form.
Johannisen, who considered leaving Whitten Oval at the end of last year, had little impact as a forward against Melbourne after an interrupted pre-season.
Mitch Hannan has also been dropped, with Rhylee West, Riley Garcia and defender Hayden Crozier returning.
St Kilda recalled fit-again midfielder Seb Ross after Jack Bytel (knee) and Jimmy Webster (hand) were added to their long injury list.
