THE WESTERN Bulldogs have named an unchanged line-up for Saturday's clash with Melbourne, but have left the door ajar for exciting youngster Shaun Higgins to make a late run to play.

Groin soreness had Higgins, 21, withdrawn from the team that defeated Adelaide but he has been named as an emergency this week.

"Higgins trained through the week, but it was a bit lighter than the other guys due to his groin injury," football operations manager James Fantasia said.

"He got through about 70 or 80 per cent of the work and we just thought we wouldn't put him in, but would put him on the emergency list so if anything happens we can consider him.

"Naming him was more about leaving the door open in case something happens between now and Saturday and still leaving us the option of seeing where he was. But if we were playing on Friday and someone pulled out we wouldn't put him in based on how he got through the week.

"If he wakes up Saturday morning and he's feeling 100 per cent and someone else was out then you've still got that option up your sleeve to be able to put him in."

The Dogs escaped the trip to Adelaide unscathed which allowed them to stick with their line-up for the first time this season.

"Ryan Griffen got a little bit of a corkie in the second quarter there, but he kept at it and he's trained all week so it hasn't been an issue," Fantasia said.

Former Demons assistant coach Paul Williams has played an important part in the Dogs' preparation for the match which Fantasia said the side would approach with caution.

"They're playing some good footy and they've still got six or seven of their more senior players unavailable at the moment," he said.

"They're certainly a club that you have to be wary of because they're starting to put it together. We're going in knowing that we've got a real game on our hands this week.

"I thought they were terrific against the Eagles – they just wouldn't give up. They're playing with some potency and they'll certainly get their due respect from us."