WESTERN Bulldogs captain Brad Johnson is holding up well despite being set to miss his side's first grand final since 1970, according to coach Rodney Eade.

Johnson, who has missed just six games through injury since his 1994 debut, will sit out Saturday night's NAB Cup grand final with an achilles problem.

"He's a fairly upbeat sort of guy and a pragmatic sort of person," Eade said on Friday.

"He's disappointed underneath that he is not playing but he's got the whole season ahead of him and he knows that.

"He had a little bit of a setback for a few days but he's not too bad. He's in a positive frame of mind. He's the sort of guy who gets on with it and doesn't really dwell too much."

Acting captain Daniel Giansiracusa said he didn't feel guilty about taking over from Johnson as the whole club was focused on getting its skipper back early in the season.   

"It's a bigger picture sort of thing. We just want Brad out there as soon as possible," he said.

"It was good to see him doing a warm up with the boys today and kicking a footy around so hopefully he's not too far away."

The Dogs have played in four pre-season/night series grand finals since 1963 and have won all of them; the most recent triumph coming 40 years ago.

They have won just one home-and-away season flag back in 1954.

Eade said the premiership drought wasn't a distraction and had not even been spoken about at Whitten Oval this week.

"This group is about creating their own history. You don't walk backwards into the future," he said.

He also said the match was a great lead-in to the season proper but wasn't an automatic indication the Dogs and the Saints would be among the pace setters this year.

"I don't think it's going to tell much. Things can change during the season," he said.

"You see teams lose to a particular side by 10 goals early in the year and then actually turn the tables.

"It depends on each game, the personnel that are available and the way you play the game. I don't think [the grand final] is going to be an advantage to either side but I think you'll see both sides going flat out."

Brad Johnson is a $431,400 forward in this year's Toyota AFL Dream Team competition.