WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge believes the club has learnt a lot from the round nine loss to Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, as his struggling young outfit prepares to take on Port Adelaide at the venue on Thursday night.

With inclement weather forecast for the clash, the Bulldogs are likely to experience similar conditions to the torrential rain that saw them struggle to move the football fluently and only register two goals in a 39-point defeat to the Crows.

The Dogs employed a possession-style game in the slippery conditions, when a territory-gaining approach was probably better suited.

Versatile defender Zaine Cordy will return from a concussion sustained in round 10 and is a handy inclusion with Dale Morris suffering further complications with his knee, but first-year stopper Aaron Naughton will be given another week off as he recovers from quad and ankle concerns. 

Speaking to the media on Thursday morning, Beveridge said the players were taking a positive approach into the game after having the week off with the bye and would be armed with the knowledge they gained from the last time they visited the City of Churches.

"We've learnt a bit from the Adelaide Crows experience in that we did a few things wrong, and one of the quite basic things was … handling the ball cleanly, being able to possess it straight away and play the territory game," Beveridge said.

"If you don't handle it cleanly … then whatever you want to do with the footy goes out the window because you miss your chance, so we'll need to be better than that.

"There's some (selection) considerations based on how they set up and how we went in last time."

With 10mm of rain expected to fall in Adelaide on Thursday, Beveridge was reluctant to divulge whether one of his three versatile talls, Jordan Roughead, Tom Boyd or Josh Schache, would be left out of the side to accommodate a smaller line-up.

Out-of-favour inside midfielder Mitch Wallis is a possible inclusion, while premiership forward Josh Dunkley could be considered, with the contest likely to played predominately at ground level.

"We're not overly tall when you compare us to some of the other sides in the competition, but the conditions and the way Port like to roll with their taller lads, it's been a talking point in match committee," Beveridge said.