MELBOURNE has made two changes for its first elimination final clash against Geelong Cats at the MCG on Friday night.
The Demons have included co-captain Jack Viney and high-flyer Mitch Hannan, while tough-nut Dean Kent (AC joint) and speedster Jay Kennedy Harris (omitted) are out of the side.
Kennedy Harris, dasher Jayden Hunt, key tall Tim Smith and defender Joel Smith have been named emergencies.
Coach Simon Goodwin said it was a tough call to leave Kennedy Harris out of the final 22.
“It’s really unfortunate for Jay. He’s been in some really good form and played his role incredibly well, but we’ve got some players coming back as well,” he said.
“Jack Viney is back in the team and it’s great to get our skipper back in. He’s done a lot of work … and Mitch Hannan has had some really strong footy behind him in the past month.
“He missed with a bit of a sore knee, but his form in the VFL last week was very strong, so he comes in as well.”
As expected, Viney will play his first match since Melbourne’s win over Fremantle at TIO Stadium in round 16.
Viney has been sidelined for the past eight matches with a toe injury, but had always been earmarked for the first week of the finals.
This will be Viney’s eighth match of the season, after playing seven games from rounds nine to 16.
Hannan, who has played 12 games for the season, is also back in, after missing Melbourne’s win over GWS Giants at the MCG in round 23 with a knee injury.
Hannan has played just two AFL matches since round 15: wins over Western Bulldogs at the MCG in round 17 and against West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium in round 22.
But his three-goal performance against the Eagles was outstanding and critical in Melbourne’s win to secure a place in the final eight.
Goodwin said the team had fine-turned its preparation for the first week of the finals.
“It’s been a really strong two weeks of preparation,” he said.
“We gave our players some time off to mentally refresh and brought them back [last] Thursday and really started to build ourselves into Friday night footy.
“We had a great session on the Saturday and had some match simulation, and that led into a normal week this week. The boys have had a really strong preparation and they’re in a great frame of mind and are looking forward to the game.”
Goodwin said he couldn’t wait to guide the club to its first final in 12 years.
“I know it’s been a long time for our supporters and it’s great to see them all getting behind their team and we’ve got a great opportunity to really inspire their team tomorrow (Friday),” he said.
“We’re looking forward to putting on a really strong performance, so we’re really looking forward to it.”
Melbourne team: first elimination final
B: Neville Jetta, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis
HB: Christian Salem, Sam Frost, Michael Hibberd
C: Dom Tyson, Clayton Oliver, James Harmes
HF: Jake Melksham, Tom McDonald, Angus Brayshaw
F: Bayley Fritsch, Sam Weideman, Alex Neal-Bullen
Foll: Max Gawn, Nathan Jones, Jack Viney
I/C: Christian Petracca, Charlie Spargo, Mitch Hannan, Aaron vandenBerg
Emg: Jay Kennedy Harris, Jayden Hunt, Tim Smith, Joel Smith
In: Viney, Hannan
Out: Kent (AC joint), Kennedy Harris
