SEVEN players will wear the red and blue for the first time this Easter Sunday, after Melbourne named a revamped line-up for its season-opener against Port Adelaide at the MCG.
First-time AFL first players Jack Viney and Jimmy Toumpas have been named, along with David Rodan, formerly of Richmond and then Port Adelaide, and ex-Geelong duo Shannon Byrnes and Tom Gillies.
Ex-Roo Cam Pedersen and mature-age recruit Matt Jones, who will also make his AFL debut, have also been confirmed in the starting 22, after initially being named on an extended interchange.
Sam Blease, Pedersen, Luke Tapscott and M.Jones have been named on the bench.
Former Swans rookie and 2012 Norwood premiership player Dean Terlich has been named an emergency, along with 2009 club champion Aaron Davey and ruckman Jake Spencer.
Key forward Mitch Clark will play his first match for Melbourne since round 13 against Greater Western Sydney, after he suffered a Lisfranc tear in his right foot.
He returned to play his first game of any sorts since the injury last Saturday for Casey against Port Melbourne in a VFL practice match at Casey Fields.
But co-captain Jack Trengove, who also played his first match for 2013 with Clark last week, is still building his match conditioning from a foot stress fracture over the pre-season and won’t play.
Recruit and 2010 Collingwood premiership player Chris Dawes was just days away from being ready for round one, after battling a hamstring injury in recent weeks.
Young key defender Tom McDonald, who finished third in Melbourne’s best and fairest last year, remains sidelined with an ankle injury. Forward Rohan Bail will also miss with concussion.
Forward-turned-defender Lynden Dunn will play his 100th match for the Demons. Dunn, who finished the second half of the 2012 season off strongly, impressed over the pre-season with his work down back.
Toumpas, selected at No.4 in last year’s NAB AFL Draft, and father/son recruit Viney, were among the most sought after youngsters in last year’s talent pool. The midfielders have been earmarked as decade players for the Demons.
Rodan and Byrnes, both add a wealth of forward and midfield experience to the Demons. Rodan is now Melbourne’s most experienced player, having brought 176 AFL matches to the club. Byrnes also has two premiership medallions to his name after playing in Geelong’s 2007 and 2009 flags. Gillies, a tall defender, played 13 matches from 2009-12, during a strong Geelong era.
Jones, 25, is a midfielder, who honed his craft with South Croydon, Labrador in the AFLQ and Box Hill in the VFL, before being drafted last November. Pederson featured in 16 matches for North Melbourne in 2011-12.
The match will start at 1.10pm.
Round 1 Melbourne team
B: Lynden Dunn, Tom Gillies, Daniel Nicholson
HB: Jack Watts, James Frawley, Colin Garland
C: Jack Viney, Jack Grimes, Jimmy Toumpas
HF: Jeremy Howe, James Sellar, Colin Sylvia
F: Shannon Byrnes, Mitch Clark, David Rodan
FOLL: Mark Jamar, Jordie McKenzie, Nathan Jones
I/C: Sam Blease, Cam Pedersen, Luke Tapscott, Matt Jones
EMG: Aaron Davey, Jake Spencer, Dean Terlich
