Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge is anticipating Gold Coast's best, reiterating how his own team isn't perceived as "formidable".
An early premiership favourite, the Suns are on a seven-game losing slide and have faced questions around their culture.
A thumping by Adelaide and coach Damien Hardwick's frosty post-game press conference displayed a team in crisis.
But Beveridge knows Sunday's clash with the Suns at People First Stadium shapes as a difficult one.
"You don't go over the top talking up the opposition, but you're always going down that track of anticipating that they'll play their best game," Beveridge said.
"Regardless of whatever negative publicity they've had, they've been on this journey trying to win every week like us.
"We know how determined they'll be to change the storyline.
"We still feel like as deep as we are into the season, there's a lot of growth left in us.
"The emotion and the possibilities as a team, and as the season unfolds and how we're perceived within our own club is absolutely critical.
"We know we are not a team that anyone's thinking is that formidable at the moment, and that's what we want to become."
The Bulldogs made some late changes on Saturday following their captain's run when they arrived on the Gold Coast.
After being dropped on Friday, out-of-form young gun Joel Freijah received a reprieve and was brought back into the 23 when Tom Liberatore (general soreness) and Riley Garcia (hamstring tightness) had to pull out.
Lachie McNeil joined Freijah as an inclusion to battle the Suns.
