WESTERN Bulldogs defender Shane Biggs is confident his team can overcome the loss of key players and continue to build on their strong start to the season.

The 3-1 Dogs have lost captain Bob Murphy (knee) for the season and fellow backman Jason Johannisen (hamstring), but Biggs believes the emerging group will "band together" and "step up".

The in-form half-back, who had 32 possessions in the six-goal win over Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, says the Dogs have enough options to adequately cover the missing duo.

Next week the Bulldogs host the Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium, followed by massive Docklands clashes with North Melbourne and Adelaide.

Vice-captain and All Australian defender Easton Wood is tipped to return against the Lions, while former Hawthorn premiership player Matt Suckling and experienced ex-Lion Jed Adcock can also bolster the Bulldogs' back half.

"I was on the bench when 'JJ' came off...he was killing it until he was injured tonight, just like Bob was," Biggs told AFL.com.au post-match.

"We need to go back to the drawing board and band together and deal with it the best we can.

"We've got guys in the twos who can step up, and Jed came down back late and did really well, and he's played a lot there before in his 200 games at the Lions.

"And 'Suckers' came back off the wing, so we can still manage it."

Like most other members of the Dogs defence, Biggs is enjoying a rich vein of form, averaging 27 possessions this season after averaging just under 20 in 10 appearances last year.

He said his form was a reflection of the unity and teamwork among the Dogs' back six.

"We've all got our own assets and we all complement each other and really help each other down there. We know what we're all going to do and we've got a lot of trust between us, which you need as a back six," he said.

"That helps us all play well individually and as a group. We'll all need to step up that bit more now.

"We're going really well as a team. We obviously had a close loss last week but we got heaps out of it, and tonight they took it up to us and we had to grind it out.

"There's a new challenge every week, and now we've got another one, but I reckon we're up for it."