Jake Stringer booted 26 goals last season, including bags of four or more on five occasions, in just his second senior campaign. He was dropped to the VFL mid-year but, when he returned, the power and speed of the 2012 fifth-overall selection were difficult for opponents to match up on.

Coach Luke Beveridge said Stringer, having trained well through the pre-season, had an important role to play as the Dogs attempt to build on the seven wins of last season.

"He is a powerful young fella. He is really an important part of our ingredients. To help him play well up forward, we need to make sure we mix it up well for him," he said.

As Hawthorn's defensive coach last season, Beveridge remembers being impressed with Stringer's versatility when he was used as a loose man in defensive 50 when the teams met in round 19 in Launceston.

"They would throw him behind the ball last year at times, even against Hawthorn. Six or seven minutes into the first quarter, the Hawks had kicked three or four goals and straight away Stringer went behind the ball, which isn't really his go, but he was asked to do that and he can do it," Beveridge said.

"We will be focusing more on his forward play and possibly some time in the midfield."

The Dogs will open their NAB Challenge against Richmond at the Whitten Oval on February 28, with Beveridge still to ascertain who will be his frontline big men.

"There is Tom [Boyd], Will [Minson], Tom Campbell, Ayce [Cordy], Jack Redpath, Jake Stringer - you can't play them all. They are all having pretty good pre-seasons," Beveridge said.

"But we need to give them opportunities to perform against genuine opposition and see how they work together. We think our forward line should be quite productive, so it's not just the individual. They need to play well in that system."

Cordy, a father-son selection in 2008 but with only 20 senior matches to his credit, is pushing Minson for the No.1 ruck role.

The Dogs will hope Beveridge's new system will generate more goals, as they averaged 81.1 points per game last season – 13th in the league.

Another concern was inside the defensive 50, with the Dogs undersized, although the defenders weren't helped by poor foot skills through the midfield.

One focus of the pre-season will be to determine who joins vice-captain Jordan Roughead in a key defensive post, easing the responsibility on veteran Dale Morris.

"We need some support. We need to play another big. We'll do some different things. Bottom line is we need someone to support Roughie," Beveridge said.

"A couple of boys have good pre-seasons in Michael Talia and Fletcher Roberts. Fletcher Roberts has had a couple of interruptions on the track but he has done the work.

"He has had some shoulder surgery but he is a good young player, and Joel Hamling came over from Geelong. Between those three, we need one or two of them to step up.

"I don't really want Dale to be playing on key forwards. If that is happening, it's not because we want it to. It's because we haven't got anyone available to play a key defensive post. We need them to step up."