MELBOURNE has included defender Jack Watts and named ruckman Max Gawn, who will play his first match since 2011, for Sunday’s clash against Greater Western Sydney at the MCG.
Watts and Gawn have been named in the starting 18, while ruckman Jake Spencer has also been included in the 25-man squad.
Spencer has been an emergency for Melbourne’s first three rounds.
No players have been left out of the side at this stage, with the final team to be announced on Friday afternoon.
Football manager Josh Mahoney said Gawn earned his recall after some strong performances in the VFL.
“After an extended layoff with a knee and a hamstring injury, he has been back to Casey and has played for three weeks now,” he said.
“His performances over the past two weeks in particular have been extremely good and he’s earned his opportunity and is set to play this week.
“Jack missed last week’s game, based on his training form, attitude and the way we want to set our backline, he gets another opportunity to show what he can do.”
Watts was omitted from last Saturday’s 94-point loss against the West Coast Eagles.
Instead, he was on standby, as an emergency at the MCG and did not travel to Eureka Stadium, where Casey played North Ballarat in the VFL.
Coach Mark Neeld stressed that Watts was a back-up for a tall player under an injury cloud at the time.
Gawn will play just his fifth AFL match – his first since round 20, 2011 against Carlton at the MCG – after he missed the entire 2012 season with a knee injury.
He also had an interrupted pre-season, after he had a setback with his hamstring, which forced him to miss the NAB Cup.
Gawn produced a commanding performance for Casey against Frankston – the day after Melbourne’s 148-point loss to Essendon – and produced another last round against North Ballarat.
Melbourne will play its third match against GWS, having defeated the Giants on both occasions last year.
Round four Melbourne team
B: Jack Watts, James Frawley, Dean Terlich
HB: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Colin Garland
C: Jack Trengove, Jack Grimes, Jack Viney
HF: Aaron Davey, Mitch Clark, Jeremy Howe
F: Luke Tapscott, Max Gawn, Shannon Byrnes
FOLL: Mark Jamar, Colin Sylvia, Nathan Jones
I/C (from): Jimmy Toumpas, Cam Pedersen, James Sellar, Michael Evans, Jake Spencer, Rohan Bail, Matt Jones
IN: Jake Spencer, Jack Watts, Max Gawn
OUT: -
