MELBOURNE is aiming to crack a crowd of more than 80,000 for Monday’s Queen’s Birthday blockbuster against Collingwood at the MCG.
Manager of football operations Josh Mahoney said the Demons – on the back of their impressive display against top of the ladder Port Adelaide at TIO Traeger Park Oval on Saturday – are urging their supporters to come out in full force.
“I know our players are looking forward to playing in front of a big crowd and it’d be great if we could crack a record crowd for recent times,” he told melbournefc.com.au.
“It’d be great if we could get 80,000 to this game, because it shapes as a good contest and it’s the only game at the MCG over this Queen’s Birthday long weekend.
“With the performances we’ve been able to achieve over the past four to six weeks – hopefully our supporters can see we’re improving each week and they’ll get along to the game on Monday and support our guys against a good side in Collingwood.”
The most recent encounter that Melbourne and Collingwood attracted a crowd of 80,000 or more was the 1988 semi-final, when 87,407 saw the Demons win by 13 points at the MCG.
In terms of the most recent 80,000-plus crowd, for a home and away Melbourne and Collingwood clash, was round six, 1971 when 80,231 watched Collingwood win by 55 points at the ‘G.
Meanwhile, Mahoney said there were no injury concerns from the weekend for the Demons. That included the rest of its squad, which played in a VFL practice match last Friday.
“The players returned from Alice Springs yesterday (Sunday) and the good news was that we got no fresh injuries out of the game, after there were a couple of concerns during the game, but all players are expected to be available for selection this week,” he said.
“All players pulled up well, so we’ll have close to a full squad to pick from for Monday’s game.
“We’ve got a nine-day break between games this week, so the first couple of days will be very light for the players and they’ll build up and then we’ll treat it as normal.
“Our main session will be on Saturday, so we encourage as many people to get down to training. Casey will also be playing Collingwood at Casey Fields on Saturday.”
