MELBOURNE has made two changes ahead of Saturday night’s clash against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium.

The Demons have included midfielder Dom Tyson for his ninth game of the season, while defender Joel Smith will return from a hip injury.

As confirmed, defender Michael Hibberd will miss after injuring his quad at training on Wednesday, with the Demons also losing Mitch Hannan to a jarred knee.

Cameron Pedersen, Sam Weideman, Oskar Baker and Josh Wagner have been named as the emergencies.

Tyson’s recall comes after an impressive string of VFL performances for the Casey Demons.

The 25-year-old finished with 26 disposals in last weekend’s win, while he collected 32 possessions and 15 tackles the weekend prior. 

Smith, who suffered a setback in the round 16 win at TIO Stadium, will return for his fifth game of the season.

Melbourne will look to record its third straight win, after convincing performances over Fremantle and the Western Bulldogs.

Coach Simon Goodwin said last week’s 50-point victory was pleasing, with his side embracing the “grind of the game”.

“Defensively… I thought we were really sound,” he told Melbourne Media.

 “I thought early in the game, our contest was off and our ability to defend kept us in the game.

“At half time, the boys adjusted well, and we got some great connection around the footy and our stoppage work, and our contest and our tackle really picked up.”

The red and blue will play Geelong for the second time this season – it was a three-point loss to the Cats last time they met in round one at the MCG. 

And with the home-and-away season approaching its end, the contest is set to be fiery.

“It’s a really exciting challenge this week, heading down to the Cattery,” Goodwin said.

“We’ve worked really hard for the club to be in a position like this, where we’re playing some really important games at the back end of the year.

“Now it’s time for us to really showcase what we’ve been building and put our skillset and our brand on show.”