Jake Spencer has big shoes to fill at Melbourne but the Demons are confident the 27-year-old is primed to grasp his AFL opportunity.
Of course, just about any club would say the same thing about their back-up big man if they lost their No.1 ruckman for an extended period.
But in Spencer's case, the Demons have legitimate reasons to believe that not all is lost after the serious hamstring injury to All-Australian Max Gawn.
"He had a really good (pre-season competition) and he was probably a bit stiff, come round one," Melbourne assistant coach Troy Chaplin told AAP.
"His form this year has been really promising and warranted a real good shout at match committee ahead of round one.
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"It wasn't like he wasn't talked about ... he was strongly considered, so he's been thereabouts."
The Demons have stuck with Spencer, a rookie selection in 2008 who has played just 36 games, for just such a situation.
His first opportunity in Gawn's absence comes against Fremantle ruckman Aaron Sandilands on Saturday when Melbourne host the Dockers at the MCG.
"What better test is there than to go up against Sandi?" Chaplin said.
"He's a dangerous opponent for any ruckman, given his sheer size and skill.
"But we've got a guy that we're backing in and that we know what we're going to get from (him)."
The Demons also brought in defender Sam Frost and midfielder Tommy Bugg, while dropping Oscar McDonald and Tim Smith.
Melbourne will try to bounce back from their first loss of the season after suffering a 29-point loss to Geelong.
Simon Goodwin's side had the upper hand for long periods of that clash but kicked themselves out of the contest with horrendous conversion in front of goal.
"It was a game that we walked away from, knowing that we did a lot right and could have won," Chaplin said.
"There's not much you can do on game day about goalkicking ... when two or three guys miss, the pressure mounts.
"But we haven't put any extra time into our goalkicking as a result ... our kicking for goal hasn't been an issue up until (then), so it was almost an anomaly in a way."
Fremantle, sitting 15th, stuck with the same team who shocked the Western Bulldogs in Perth.
