MELBOURNE has named a settled squad for its final NAB Challenge clash against Essendon at Etihad Stadium on Friday evening.
Although a squad of 27 has been named, both sides will field 22 players, plus two substitutes for the match.
Manager of football operations Josh Mahoney said it was another opportunity to fine tune the team leading into the season proper.
“This will be another step-up in our preparation for round one,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“Out of last week’s game, we didn’t have any major injuries. Aaron vandenBerg got a knock during the game and he did the main training session and will be available for selection this week.
“Jack Watts pulled up well after playing in the second half and we will get some further game time in a lot of our midfielders. Jesse Hogan got through three quarters of the game and pulled up well.
“Casey Scorpions also have a practice match also – they have five practice matches leading into the season – which will help their preparation [and the Melbourne-listed players] for the season.”
Meanwhile, the AFL will trial a number of initiatives across this weekend’s NAB Challenge matches at Etihad Stadium, to see whether any may be considered as a future part of the premiership season.
AFL General Manager Football Operations Mark Evans said the five matches at Etihad Stadium to be played on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday would see trials of a countdown clock during a player’s set shot for goal, the use of the PA system to relay umpire free kick explanations, the use of the PA system to provide further score review detail and an adjusted roof position at two day matches.
They are as follows:
15 second shot clock – For when a player is having a shot at goal following a mark or free kick, a 15 second countdown clock will appear on the scoreboard and count from 15 down to zero at the point where the umpire tells the player he has 15 seconds remaining. The player must begin his approach before the clock reaches zero (or the umpire calls play on).
Explanation of free kicks during scoreboard replays – Currently, the television audience receives some explanation via the umpire communications system, but this is not heard by patrons at the ground. The scoreboard operator will be connected to the umpire communication system and will activate explanation of the reason for the free kick during replays.
Broadcasting umpire explanation of score reviews - The TV broadcast currently takes this audio and the AFL will now seek to play this audio on the ground PA, pending the audio quality.
but patrons are often uninformed.
Countdown of quarter and half time breaks - A countdown clock will be shown on the scoreboard to inform patrons of the time remaining before play is scheduled to recommence.
Roof positioning – At Saturday’s 1.10pm game between Richmond and North Melbourne and Sunday’s 4.40pm game between Carlton and the Geelong Cats, the western roof panel will be adjusted into a different position to try and reduce potential sunglare issues on the ground during play.
Melbourne squad
1. Jesse Hogan
2. Nathan Jones
3. Christian Salem
4. Jack Watts
5. Jimmy Toumpas
6. Chris Dawes
7. Jack Viney
8. Heritier Lumumba
11. Max Gawn
12. Dom Tyson
13. Jordie Mckenzie
14. Lynden Dunn
17. Sam Frost
18. Daniel Cross
19. Ben Newton
20. Colin Garland
21. Cameron Pedersen
22. Viv Michie
24. Jay Kennedy-Harris
25. Tom McDonald
31. Jack Grimes
36. Jeff Garlett
37. Aaron vandenBerg
39. Neville Jetta
40. Mark Jamar
44. Rohan Bail
45. Matt Jones
