Round 17 match preview: Melbourne v Port Adelaide
Match details
Saturday 16 July, TIO Stadium, 8.10 pm (local time)

Teams
Melbourne
B: James Strauss, James Frawley, Daniel Nicholson
HB: Colin Garland, Jared Rivers, Nathan Jones
C: Jack Trengove, Colin Sylvia, Tom Scully
HF: Ricky Petterd, Liam Jurrah, Cale Morton
F: Brad Green, Jack Watts, Stefan Martin
FOLL: Mark Jamar, Brent Moloney, Jordie McKenzie
I/C: Jordan Gysberts, Jeremy Howe, Luke Tapscott, Addam Maric
EMG: Clint Bartram, Matthew Bate, Max Gawn

IN: Addam Maric, Luke Tapscott
OUT: Sam Blease, Jamie Bennell

Port Adelaide
B: Tom Logan, Jackson Trengove, Cameron O'Shea
HB: Nick Salter, Troy Chaplin, Hamish Hartlett
C: Ben Jacobs, Travis Boak, Kane Cornes
HF: David Rodan, Jay Schulz, Brett Ebert
F: Danyle Pearce, Chad Cornes, Robert Gray
FOLL: Matthew Lobbe, Domenic Cassisi, Matt Thomas
I/C: Michael Pettigrew, Steven Salopek, Mitchell Banner, Cameron Hitchcock
EMG: Jacob Surjan, Matthew Broadbent, Daniel Stewart

IN: Michael Pettigrew, Steven Salopek
OUT: Matthew Broadbent, Daniel Stewart

TV times
Melbourne: Channel 10, 8.20 pm (live)
Adelaide: Channel 10, 2.00 pm (live)
NSW: Channel 10, 10.30 pm (2 hr delay)
QLD: Channel 10, 8.30 pm (live)

Form
Melbourne: D, L, W, W, Bye, L, W, L, L, L, W, L, W, W, L
Port Adelaide: L,L,L,W,L,L,L,L,L,W,L,L,L,L,L

Ladder position
Melbourne:  10th
Port Adelaide: 16th

Head-to-head
Played: 22
Melbourne: 10 wins
Port Adelaide: 12 wins
Drawn: 0

At this ground:
Played :  1
Melbourne:  1 win
Port Adelaide :  0 wins
Drawn : 0

Coach v coach
Dean Bailey: 1
Matthew Primus: 1
Drawn:  0

Last time they met
Round 21, 2010 - Port Adelaide 17.10.112 defeated Melbourne 11.17.83 at AAMI Stadium.

Recent streak
Port Adelaide has a current winning streak over Melbourne by 1 game, with an average of 29.

Injury list
Melbourne:
Rohan Bail (knee) - 2 weeks, Aaron Davey (knee) - 4 weeks, Jack Fitzpatrick (ankle) - 4-6 weeks, Colin Garland (jarred ankle) - test, Jack Grimes (foot) - season, Mark Jamar (knee) - test, Neville Jetta (hand) - 2 weeks, Michael Newton (foot) - 4 weeks, Jake Spencer (knee) - season
Luke Tapscott (hamstring) - 1 week

Port Adelaide
Dean Brogan (achilles) - test, Alipate Carlile  (hip) - 5 weeks, Jarrad Irons ( shoulder) - season, Tom Jonas (hand tendon) - 4 weeks, Ben Newton (groin) -  3 weeks, Simon Phillips (shoulder) - season, Jackson Trengove (bruised forearm) - test, Justin Westhoff (turf toe)- 3 weeks

Summary
Placed six positions above Port Adelaide on the ladder, this is a game the Demons need to win. With Tapscott back from injury and regular players being fresh from the bye, the Demons are well positioned to take the four points.
Although officially a Melbourne home game, playing on an unfamiliar turf of TIO Stadium, Darwin, will ensure no home ground advantage, making for an interesting contest.

Players to watch

Melbourne:
Ricky Petterd
After last game's flying mark and Mark of the Week nomination, Petterd's current form cannot be disputed. In the past weeks, Ricky has played in integral part in Melbourne's forward line but increasing his defensive pressure. Consequently, Ricky currently ranks 8th for the Club in number of tackles. Originally hailing from the Gold Coast, the warm conditions of Darwin will favour Ricky's style of play.

Port Adelaide:
Hamish Hartlett
Hartlett has been a valuable inclusion for the Power this season. Despite an injury ridden 2010 and preseason, Hartlett has truly proven himself as a valuable backman, ranking highly in the Club’s leader boards for marks, tackles, kicks and handballs. Despite missing the first two rounds of the year, the high draft pick has played consistently each week and will no doubt have a solid impact on Saturday’s game.

Match-up to watch
James Frawley/ Jay Schulz
After missing the start of the season with a torn pectoral muscle, Frawley is returning to his All-Australian form and is consistently playing an important role in the Demons backline. Schulz has kicked 12 goals in the past three rounds to lead the Power’s goal kicking, and it will most likely be up to Frawley to shut him down.

Most disposals in 2011
Melbourne: Brent Moloney (341)
Port Adelaide: Travis Boak (309)

Most marks in 2011
Melbourne: Jack Watts (88)
Port Adelaide: Troy Chaplin (91)

Most tackles in 2011
Melbourne: Brent Moloney (78)
Port Adelaide: Matt Thomas (98)

Most goals in 2011
Melbourne: Liam Jurrah (30)
Port Adelaide: Jay Schulz (24)

Memorable match
The first and most recent time the two sides met in Darwin - Round Nine, 2010 - was a close fought contest that resulted in a one-point victory to Melbourne.  Leading all day, the Demons held a 33 point lead at the final break, before Port Adelaide kicked eight goals in the final quarter to Melbourne’s three, effectively leveling the scores.  There was just one minute remaining when a rushed behind to Melbourne gave them the lead and the victory - 17.9.111 to Port Adelaide’s 16.14.110.

Foot in both camps
Matthew Bishop, Brent Heaver, Peter Walsh, Byron Pickett, Dean Bailey, Peter Rohde, Josh Mahoney

What Dean Bailey says…
“We’ll see where we went wrong and learn from it. We’ve got to get back on the track and train well and then we’ve got to focus on Port Adelaide.”

What @DemonsHQ is saying…
@RobEvans24 Rob Evans
Pretty stoked it's Friday and for once I have no work tomorrow and looking forward to seeing @DemonsHQ kick some power butt tomorrow night

@katiemelb Katie Purvis
Reeeaaalllly looking forward to watching @DemonsHQ play on Saturday night at Marrara in Darwin. Hope it's as good as last year

@rocks_mccoy Zach Jones
Cant wait for Saturday night! Two weeks is too long to not be seeing @DemonsHQ in action! #afldeesport #godees

Key Melbourne question
Will the Demons come back fresh from the bye to take the four points from Port Adelaide and remain unbeaten in Darwin?