Melbourne veteran Bernie Vince is in line for an AFL recall when the Demons clash with the Western Bulldogs at the MCG.
The 32-year-old was dropped after a round-14 loss to Port Adelaide following a run of indifferent form.
Coach Simon Goodwin told reporters on Wednesday that Vince had taken his demotion in the right manner and put a strong case for a return against the Dogs on Saturday.
"Bernie has done enough," Goodwin said.
"I can't sit here and say that he is (definitely) going to play, but he's certainly performed well at VFL level."
Goodwin dismissed the notion that he can only afford to play one of Vince or fellow 32-year-old Jordan Lewis in the same line-up.
"We certainly haven't come to the conclusion that it's only one of them in the team at once," he said.
"Without question we've had some success through the year when both of them have played together.
"We're really confident that in the right form they can play in the same side."
The Demons snapped a run of three losses with a 54-point win over Fremantle in Darwin at the weekend.
They kicked a wasteful 13.24 in warm, slick conditions but Goodwin isn't concerned the wayward display is the start of a trend.
"It's something that probably hasn't been an issue for us throughout year, I think we've been ranked No.1 (in offence) for most of the year," he said.
"It wasn't what we would like but at the same time it doesn't change how we train - we do (goalkicking) each week.
"We've functioned really well as a forward line for most of the year. We've been fairly efficient once in there, but clearly it's an area where we still want to get better.
"If it becomes a trend we'll probably address it in a more formal manner."
Sixth-ranked Melbourne will look to tighten their grip on a finals berth against a Dogs side that is out of the finals race in 14th and missing star midfielder Marcus Bontempelli, who underwent emergency appendix surgery on Tuesday evening.
