West Coast coach Adam Simpson hopes his team don't get caught up in an old-fashioned shootout when they front up against Melbourne in Sunday's AFL clash at Optus Stadium.
The Eagles will guarantee themselves a top-two berth and two home finals with victory over Melbourne.
The Demons need to win at least one of their remaining two games in order to secure a finals berth.
If they lose to West Coast, they'll need to conjure up a win against high-flying GWS at the MCG next week.
The Demons are the highest scoring team in the competition, with their average of 104.4 points per game well above the chasing pack.
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But they rank ninth in the defensive stakes, and they have also copped widespread criticism for failing to fire against finals-bound rivals.
Melbourne have the unenviable record of being 0-7 against sides sitting in the top half of the ladder.
Losses to Hawthorn (67 points), Richmond (46), and Collingwood (42) were the biggest of the lot.
West Coast experienced similar criticism in 2016 when they were labelled 'flat-track bullies' for their ability to crush lower sides but come up short against the elite.
Simpson said it was unfair to dismiss Melbourne, pointing to the fact that they have suffered a series of near losses this season.
The Demons lost twice to Geelong by a combined five points, while they also fell just short against Sydney (9), St Kilda (2), and Port Adelaide (10).
The weather conditions for Sunday's game are shaping up to suit the high-scoring Demons, with 24 degrees and sunshine forecast.
Simpson has put his charges on guard for a tough contest.
"They're the best scoring side in the comp, so I don't think we want to get involved in a shoot-out," Simpson said.
Melbourne made five changes all up from the team that lost narrowly to Sydney last week.
Star forward Jesse Hogan (foot) and Jayden Hunt (ankle) are injured, while Jay Kennedy Harris, Jeff Garlett, and Cameron Pedersen were all dropped.
Sam Weideman, Michael Hibberd, Dean Kent, Jake Melksham, and Mitch Hannan were called is as replacements.
West Coast are unchanged. Spearhead Josh Kennedy will miss another week with a shin injury, while Jake Waterman couldn't force his way back in despite a seven-goal haul in the WAFL last week.
Simpson said Sunday's match would be the biggest challenge for ruck duo Scott Lycett and Nathan Vardy since Nic Naitanui went down with a knee injury five weeks ago.
"The really really good ruckmen, you're just trying to nullify ... Max (Gawn) is in that category," Simpson said.
