Matthew Boyd and Jack Redpath will miss the clash in Sydney at the weekend, after each accepting one match bans for striking and kneeing Melbourne players at the weekend.

Captain Bob Murphy sustained a knee injury in round three and will not play again this season, while in-form defender Jason Johanissen was sidelined with a hamstring injury and former Hawk Matthew Suckling hurt his knee and ankle.

Boyd's suspension will mean another defensive option is missing and Beveridge said there was no obvious player to fill his position.

Beveridge said the club was taking a "glass half full" approach to the situation and it may provide an opportunity for someone to make their AFL debut. It would be uplifting for other players to watch a youngster reach that milestone.

Rookies on the Bulldogs' list were not ready for senior football, he said, adding that former Cat Joel Hamling and draftee Kieran Collins would be considered.

"We've almost lost our pool of higher defenders, there's no-one really left there at VFL level to come in at the moment," Beveridge said.

The coaching staff would consider sending a midfielder to halfback, he said.

"The cupboard's a bit bare now with defence, it's been part of our make-up that's been hit the most through injury," he said.

"But the great thing is ... besides Koby [Stevens] missing a couple of weeks, we've managed to keep our midfield intact."

"We just need to continue to make sure our system holds up, (that) our players adapt to playing with different personnel next to them and to date the players have done enormously well."

Stevens would most likely be available for selection after suffering an abdominal strain, Beveridge said.

"It's been a real credit to our players to be able to continue the momentum when we've lost players throughout the course of the year so far," he said.

In the search for backline replacements, Beveridge said another option would be putting Will Minson in the ruck and sending Jordan Roughead to the backline.

Minson has played 189 AFL games for the Bulldogs, none in 2016, but has been playing well for Footscray in the VFL.

"He's doing everything he can to get back in, can't ask for more than that and we'll definitely consider it," Beveridge said.

The coach said Boyd and Redpath had not considered appealing their suspensions, because of the risk of doubling the penalty.

"[They'll] take their medicine and move on, we've been pretty disciplined and good over a long period of time and the boys will come back into the side in a couple of weeks," he said.

Boyd was suspended for striking the Tomas Bugg in the Bulldogs' win over Melbourne and Redpath was punished for kneeing Ben Kennedy.

Melbourne's Neville Jetta also has accepted a one-match suspension for striking the Western Bulldogs' Marcus Bontempelli in the same match and Cameron Pedersen was fined $1500 for engaging in rough conduct with Fletcher Roberts.

In other news from the match review panel, the Hawk's Taylor Duryea accepted a $1000 fine for striking Fremantle's Hayden Ballantyne.

The Bulldogs will play GWS at Spotless Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the first time they have played outside Melbourne this season.

Both teams have won six games and lost two in 2016.