MELBOURNE could be without van Rooyen this weekend, but the club still hopeful as the Demons set their eyes on the Hawks.
Simon Goodwin addressed the media on Wednesday morning in his weekly press conference to talk about van Rooyen's Tribunal hearing, players returning from injury and Melbourne's upcoming clash with the Hawks.
Jacob van Rooyen Tribunal Hearing
“Clearly, it's disappointing and frustrating,” Goodwin said.
“You look at it and see that it’s either unjust, or the fabric of the game is getting challenged,
“But clearly there's a level of frustration, a level of disappointment, for a whole range of different reasons.
“Clearly the laws state that you can contest the ball and Jacob’s only thing that he was looking at was contesting the ball.
“I think we all sit here, we understand where the game's going in relation to the head. There's no question about that.
“But there's always going to be incidental incidents within our game, one of them will be when you're contesting the ball, especially in aerial contests.
“I’m a big advocate of looking after the head, there's no question about that.
“Clearly there's been a shift and we need to get to the bottom of that as a game.”
Jacob van Rooyen Tough Week
“It's tough for him,” Goodwin said.
“Clearly he's frustrated. He's a 20 year old that's played six games of footy.
“He’s just been a ball player that goes after the ball. He's frustrated.
“We've got a lot of support for Jacob around him and making sure he's okay. But we've also got to make sure that he focuses on the potential that he'll be playing this week and we need him to be able to perform.”
Charlie Spargo Pushing Case For Selection
“He'll definitely press for selection,” Goodwin said.
“He basically played in the VFL based off having two weeks out of the game and coming back from concussion. We know at times that can be quite challenging.
“Having two weeks out, we wanted to make sure that he was 100% right, so we brought him back via the VFL, played incredibly well.
“He's an important player for us so he's right in the mix for selection this week.”
Christian Salem Return From Injury
“He won't be playing AFL for a few weeks yet,” Goodwin said.
“He’s just come out of his rehab, he's getting some game loads into him. It's unfortunate that the VFL have got a bye this week, so he won't get a game this week and more than likely he'll play VFL next week on his journey back towards AFL footy.
“We want to make sure with Christian that he is 100% right to go, he’s fully fit, he's in good form and at that stage, that's when we'll bring him back into AFL footy.”
Michael Hibberd Returning To The Side
“He's an important player to us Hibbo,” Goodwin said.
“He’s had a few niggles going on throughout the whole of last week and over the last few weeks.
“We were able to manage him last week and he'll come back in this week.”
Hawthorn Match-Up
“The last four weeks outside of the Fremantle game they've been really tight defensively,” Goodwin said.
“They've really improved their defensive side of their game. They've been able to win stoppage and clearance.
“They are a side thats certainly developing, they’re on the improve.”
Harrison Petty's Forward Role
“Obviously it's a great option for us to have both ends of the ground,” Goodwin said.
“He's an influential player behind the ball, but we really like what he's done ahead of the ball.
“We want to continue to pursue what that looks like for the time being. We think he's really progressing as a forward. So we're going to head down that path, especially for the next next few weeks and can continue our journey to find a best version of ourselves.
“His ability to go forward and impact for us has given us a different look and we're liking what we see so far.”
Joel Smith's Flexibility
“He’s played forward throughout the whole of the summer,” Goodwin said.
“He looks pretty dynamic ahead of the ball. But we also know that behind the ball what it can do for us.
“We’re trying to build flexibility and options for us as we get into the season and both those guys provide that for us.”
