FORMER Crow Aidan Riley will make his Melbourne debut against Richmond at the MCG this Saturday and ruckman Max Gawn will play his first match for the season.
The Demons were forced to make two changes at the selection table, with key tall James Frawley (toe/hamstring) and forward Shannon Byrnes (ankle) out through injury.
But coach Paul Roos said defender Dean Terlich (concussion) was right to go.
“Terls is OK and he trained really well today, but Chip won’t play,” he said.
“It’s just an accumulation of things that he’s had – the toe and the slight hamstring – so it’s probably too much risk just to play him. We’ve got the bye coming up, so he’ll be fine after the bye, so he’ll miss out.
“Shannon Byrnes has got a bad ankle as well, so he won’t play either.”
Defender Alex Georgiou, midfielder Jordie McKenzie and second-year Demon Jimmy Toumpas are the emergencies.
Roos said Riley, 22, who played 12 matches for Adelaide from 2011-13, had earned his call up after a broken leg – sustained playing for the Crows against the West Coast Eagles in round 15 last year – halted the start of the year.
But Riley has impressed for Casey in the VFL since playing his first match for the year in early April.
Gawn has also produced some strong form since a hamstring injury sidelined him from rounds two to four.
“Aidan will play his first game for the club, which is good. He’s been good for five weeks now, so he’s been really consistent in the seconds,” Roos said.
“Maxy Gawn really comes in for Chip [Frawley], but probably comes in for Pedo and Pedo now plays as a key forward or key back – depending on what we do there.
“Max has been in good form – he didn’t play last week – because we had him out [as an emergency], so those two will come in, which will be good.”
Frawley, the defender-turned-forward who has impressed considerably in attack since round three, will miss his first match for the season.
Byrnes has played six matches this season, having been an emergency for rounds four and five.
Meanwhile, Roos said midfielder McKenzie and speedster Sam Blease, who were among the best Melbourne-listed players for Casey in the VFL last round, were progressing strongly.
“Jordie’s a consistent player and he’s probably just a bit stiff at the moment, but the midfield’s going pretty well at senior level,” he said.
“Bleasey’s just got to find a consistent patch of form over two or three weeks. He was good last week and he struggled a little bit the week before and was poor the week before that. If he can play another really good game [he’ll be right in the mix].
“Mitch Clisby’s been a bit stiff – he’s been doing it now for five or six weeks – and Nicho (Daniel Nicholson) has been doing the same thing.
“We really want our seconds guys to be knocking the door down to get a chance to play.”
Melbourne team: round nine
B: Neville Jetta, Tom McDonald, Colin Garland
HB: Dean Terlich, Lynden Dunn, Jack Grimes
C: Bernie Vince, Jack Viney, Daniel Cross
HF: Jack Watts, Max Gawn, Jeremy Howe
F: Cam Pedersen, Chris Dawes, Rohan Bail
FOLL: Mark Jamar, Nathan Jones, Dom Tyson
I/C: Christian Salem, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Aidan Riley, Matt Jones
EMG: Alex Georgiou, Jordie McKenzie, Jimmy Toumpas
IN: Max Gawn, Aidan Riley
OUT: Shannon Byrnes (foot), James Frawley (hamstring)
