MELBOURNE will consider its options in defence as it decides how to replace Jake Lever after the Demon interceptor underwent surgery on his knee this week.
Simon Goodwin told the assembled media at this morning's press conference that Lever's replacement is unlikely to be Harrison Petty, as Melbourne persists with the former defender in attack.
The club will be looking to bounce back from a 'really poor' outing against the Eagles as it takes on St Kilda on Sunday.
This week's Media Conference Focuses are brought to you by Fujifilm.
Lever on the Sidelines
"He's been managing it (knee injury) probably for the last three or four weeks," Goodwin said.
"We knew at some stage, he'd have to go in and have that surgery done. It was really just working out the best time to get it done.
"Obviously once the concussion took place and, using those protocols, it just seemed like a perfect opportunity to go in and get it done."
Options Down Back
"Adam Tomlinson's in really good form and I guess it's the decision for us whether we go a bit taller or we stay a bit smaller," Simon Godwin said.
"So, we'll train and today we'll have a look at that."
Petty Gaining Continuity
"I'm fixed on him being a forward," Gooodwin said.
"I think what we've seen, obviously last year and parts of our pre-season this year, we feel that he's a really important person for us in our forward half of the ground from a leadership perspective and also his aerial capacity.
"Clearly right now he's probably not playing his best footy, but we're really confident that with some continuity, some ability to play that position for a longer period of time, he will get that.
"The combination that he could have and the cohesion that we need to build down there is really important for us."
Langdon to Return
"Ed will play. He was away last week for his sister's wedding," Goodwin says.
"That's something that we're really passionate about - family and them being a priority. And we won't compromise on that.
"For Ed it was a really important process for him to be there for his sister. They've got an incredibly close relationship and she lives in London. We were really supportive of his journey back there."
Reviewing the Perth Trip
"Our contest work was really poor on the day, and I thought our ability to defend the ground was poor." Gooodwin said.
"They’re things that we've been really strong at in the past, so we certainly have got some things that we need to really go back and make sure we've got a really clear identity on how we play.
"We've got great optimism by the end of the year that we'll have all three phases in check together."
Ollie Sestan Closing In
"He's getting close. He's certainly building a four to six week patch where he's playing with AFL intensity consistently," Goodwin said.
"We've been working really hard with Ollie to get him to a physical capacity to be able to deal with the game.
"He's worked incredibly hard and he's starting to build a bank of form around, intensity that will stand up at AFL footy, and we're really happy with how he's tracking.
"He's still got a little bit to learn in his game and develop from a positional perspective, but he's starting to be a real exciting player for us moving forward."
The St Kilda Struggle
"We know that it’s going to be an arm wrestle," Goodwin said.
"The way St Kilda defend is really hard to play against.
"They get a lot of numbers behind the ball and they try and score on counter attack."
van Rooyen Rebound
"He'll train today so we're expecting him to play but obviously, we've got to make sure that he passes really well and he's feeling really well," Goodwin said.
"We’ll make that decision tomorrow, once he gets through that session."
Hunter Building at Casey
"He missed a really big piece of pre-season so he's been building his capacity in recent times and his form at VFL level," Goodwin said.
"He's getting really close. He's started to play some really strong footy at VFL level, especially in the last three weeks."
