Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge wants his troops to spread the scoring load in a bid to overcome the loss of leading goal-kicker Aaron Naughton for their AFL clash with Collingwood.
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Naughton will miss at least a month with a knee injury, joining fellow dangerous forward Cody Weightman (elbow) on the sidelines in a significant blow to the Bulldogs' finals hopes.
But the 11th-placed Dogs (5-6) will fancy their chances at Marvel Stadium on Friday night against a Magpies outfit that has been hit even harder by injury in recent weeks.
Beveridge has ruled out using captain Marcus Bontempelli as a full-time forward, set to recall Rory Lobb to replace Naughton alongside young focal points Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Sam Darcy in attack.
"If you ask them, they'll whisper in your ear that they can take on anyone - in a modest way," Beveridge said of Ugle-Hagan and Darcy.
"They'll always come out and have that inner belief, it's just the way that they're built.
"But ultimately without Naughts and Cody, who were our two leading goal-kickers in our forward line, we need to spread the load.
"To beat the Pies we're probably going to need nine or 10 goal-kickers, at least, and so we'll encourage them to share the ball and find a way through."
Injury-riddled Collingwood have provided a blueprint for the Bulldogs in attack over recent weeks.
The Magpies are in a more dire situation when it comes to their forward mix, without sidelined attackers Brody Mihocek, Jamie Elliott, Mason Cox, Will Hoskin-Elliott and Dan McStay.
Star trio Jordan De Goey, Tom Mitchell and Scott Pendlebury are also out of a depleted midfield unit because of short-term injuries.
Coach Craig McRae admitted his makeshift side is "swimming against the tide" when it comes to personnel but has backed them to keep getting the job done.
The Magpies (6-3-2) sit seventh and are unbeaten in their last eight matches despite having only Mihocek (16) in the competition's top 30 goal-kickers this season.
McRae will likely call on Jeremy Howe, who returns from a groin injury, or Billy Frampton in attack against the Bulldogs after finishing the last two games without any fit talls forward of centre.
"We're just going to have to keep evolving and I think opportunities have presented some really good signs for us," McRae said.
"We're finding ways to score and we haven't relied on someone to kick multiple goals for us week after week.
"It's been a collective and that won't change."
The Bulldogs, and Beveridge in particular, were under intense pressure after a rocky start to the season.
But they have steadied ahead of the Collingwood clash, with wins over Richmond and GWS before a competitive loss to flag favourites Sydney last time out amid in-game injuries to Naughton, Ed Richards and Anthony Scott (both concussion).
"We come into this game, we've still got some beans, and we're feeling pretty good about our system and what we can do," he said.
"Now we've just got to execute with a slightly different blend."
Australian Associated Press
