WESTERN BULLDOGS coach Luke Beveridge says his young side will have to step up in the absence of 'influential' captain Robert Murphy for Saturday's clash against Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium.

Murphy, who has played every game so far this season and been in career-best form, pulled up sore after the 87-point thrashing of Essendon, and Beveridge said the club takes a no-risk approach with its players.

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"The writing was on the wall early in the week that he might have needed a week off," said Beveridge

"He is generally sore and we're trying not to take risks with any of our players, hence there's only three who have played every game.

"It won't do him any harm, he's toiled hard and his performances have been outstanding.

"He has been really influential, so it will be a challenge for our back end."

The loss of the skipper could be compounded with fellow in-form running defender Jason Johannisen doing very little at training on Friday morning.

The 22-year-old only did some straight line running under the watchful eyes of medical staff before leaving the track.

If Johannisen joined Murphy on the sidelines it would be a massive blow to the Bulldogs' as both are cornerstones of Beveridge's attacking game plan.

The Dogs are taking a "week to week" approach with versatile big man Jordan Roughead who is still having trouble with a foot complaint that has seen him miss the past two matches.

Sitting in fifth spot, a win over the Power would all but secure the Bulldogs a place in September and Beveridge reluctantly acknowledged a top four berth wasn't out of the realms of possibility for his young team.

"It's there, it's definitely there," joked Beveridge

"There's no doubt (there’s) a lot of teams in that area whose senses have been heightened by that opportunity."

"If we could get there it would be sensational, but if it means we don't quite get to where we need to be (then) we've just got to deal with that."