MELBOURNE coach Simon Goodwin will "back" his emerging midfield to go head-to-head with Geelong superstars Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood in Saturday's clash at Etihad Stadium.

The dynamic duo, dubbed 'Dangerwood', combined for 68 possessions in the Cats' 111-point thrashing of the Demons in round 23 last year, but Goodwin is happy to trust an on-ball division lead by co-captains Nathan Jones and Jack Viney, and All Australian ruckman Max Gawn.

That imposing trio will be ably assisted by in-form youngsters Clayton Oliver, Dom Tyson and Angus Brayshaw, however the Dees will be without star recruit Jordan Lewis.

"We'll back our boys in first and foremost," Goodwin said on Thursday.

"We're really excited by our midfield group, and obviously with Max in the ruck with a potential advantage there.

"Like all teams we'll have some scenarios that we can go to depending on how those two guys are going.

"They're two pretty tough players, Selwood and Dangerfield."

Jordan Lewis would have been a key player in Goodwin's plans to curtail the influence of the Cats pair, but his three-week suspension will see the Demons needing to spread the load.

While he refused to slam Lewis and forward Jesse Hogan (who received a two-match ban from the MRP) for their undisciplined acts against Carlton last week, the coach isn't a fan of the stigma that can come with such actions.

"We don't want to be seen as a footy club that (plays) that way, we want to be seen as footy club that is hard and ruthless around footy, but plays within the rules," Goodwin said.

"We've had three guys within the last two weeks that have made mistakes, and that has affected the team." 

Goodwin gave little away on who would replace the suspended pair, but revealed midfielder Tom Bugg and versatile tall Cam Pedersen were in the selection conversation.

He also forecast the club could blood a third player for the season, with mature-aged recruit Tim Smith a strong chance to join round-one starters Joel Smith and Mitch Hannan as Demon debutants in 2017. 

Nicknamed the 'The Bull' for his fierce attack on the contest, the 25-year-old combined a career in plumbing while starring for Casey Demons in recent seasons. 

"(Tim) played really well in the VFL last week," Goodwin said.

"He went into the midfield and showed a new skill set, so he's really close to getting selected."