Demons recruit Steven May will be given the job to stop Jesse Hogan on Saturday, the man Melbourne traded to Fremantle to land the key defender.
In a twist to last year's blockbuster trade, which saw Hogan head from Melbourne to the Dockers and May depart Gold Coast to join the Demons, the pair will face off at the MCG for their new clubs.
Hogan has played 11 games and booted 13 goals in his first season at Fremantle, while May has had three senior appearances in an injury-affected first campaign in red and blue.
But their match-up shapes as a key facet this weekend, and Dees coach Simon Goodwin backed his backman.
"[They're] two really good players and we know both of them intimately. It's going to be a great match-up for our supporters to go and watch," Goodwin said on Friday.
"I think [Hogan's] had a strong year. He's really worked his way in, he's in good form and I really liked the way he played last week. He attacked the ball strongly.
"He's someone we're going to have to be mindful of, but Steven May's game against Collingwood was outstanding, and it's going to be a really good match-up."
Hogan played 71 games and booted 152 goals for the Demons before heading back to his native Western Australia during last year's NAB AFL Trade Period, and Goodwin thinks he will be well-received by the Melbourne faithful in his first game against his former side.
"I think they'll treat him like a Melbourne person should be. He gave this club great service," Goodwin said.
"In the end the reason Jesse went back to Perth was for family reasons. He certainly loved the Melbourne footy club but he wanted to get closer to his family, and we supported the process.
"He's got a lot of close friends here and they stay in contact, I know that, so I'm sure they're looking forward to playing against each other."
The Dees will be without fellow defender Jake Lever against the in-form Dockers, who have won their past three games, including a trip to the MCG against Collingwood in round 11. Lever suffered bone bruising to his reconstructed left knee but avoided serious damage.
"He'll hopefully only miss one. He's got some bone bruising. He had an incident in the Collingwood game in the first quarter. He's obviously disappointed, he wants to play AFL footy. But at the same time he's got some perspective," Goodwin said.
"It's been a long journey for him, it's been 12 months and he's had one game. It's an innocuous injury, so hopefully he'll be back soon.
"It's on the same knee. He had scans, everything's fine. He's just got a little bit of bone bruising which is affecting his ability to run. We've got to make sure he's ready to go."
Fellow defender Michael Hibberd required follow-up surgery on his collarbone after the round 12 Queen's Birthday loss to Collingwood, but is expected to return next week.
