The reigning premiers are teetering at the halfway point of the season, sitting outside the top eight and dealing with injuries across the board.
Breakout key defender Esava Ratugolea (hamstring) joined a list including Patrick Dangerfield, Cam Guthrie, Max Holmes, Rhys Stanley and Mitch Duncan on the weekend as the Cats continue to lose key personnel.
They play a Western Bulldogs team firing on all cylinders on Saturday night and club great Brad Johnson believes the Dogs must capitalise on their wounded opposition.
A win for the Dogs would put them three games clear of Geelong as they look to push for the top four and Johnson says a strong performance would prove their bona fides.
“The Dogs play them on Saturday night and the last time they beat them was four years ago,” the Bulldogs great told SEN’s Sportsday.
“If the Dogs are serious about where they want to go this season, they need to have a ruthless approach to this game against the Cats and belt Geelong off the park because of where they’re at, the Cats as a team at the moment, mostly because of their personnel problems.
“Come the end of the year it might be a totally different conversation, but at the moment, with where they’re at, the Dogs are a chance to push for a top four spot and this is their best chance to seriously push for a top four spot under Luke Beveridge.”
The Bulldogs could also be boosted by the return of star midfielder Adam Treloar from a hamstring injury on Saturday night.