FORWARD help is coming for Melbourne with Harrison Petty in the frame for a VFL return this Saturday at Casey Fields. 

Simon Goodwin revealed Petty was fit and firing on the track, and still on schedule for a Round 2 AFL return against Hawthorn. 

Ben Brown, Tom McDonald and Tom Fullarton all now have VFL football under their belts, with Goodwin and the selection committee with more options at their disposal. 

Kozzy Pickett will be available to take on the Dogs after serving his suspension in Opening Round.

Reflecting on Sydney

“Clearly there were some things as the game went on that dropped away, that caused a lot of our issues," Goodwin says.

"There's no doubt when we had momentum in the game and our contest was strong, our ability to connect still wasn't where we wanted it and we've always said that that's going to take some time.

"We feel like if you look to the game before that (against Carlton), we connected very well. The conditions were incredibly tough (in Sydney) and I don't think either team connected incredibly well inside 50 or moved the ball from the back half well at all.

"Where the game swung was on contest, they dominated us on contest in the second half."

The Dees Dogs Rivalry 

"We've had some great battles in the last few years, there's no doubt about that," Goodwin said.

"We certainly have enormous respect for the way they play the game. They're incredibly strong through the middle of the ground with some great players.

"We're looking forward to getting in front of our supporters. You know, we haven't played in front of them for a while now."

Clayton's First Hit-Out

"I think he got better as the game went on," Goodwin said.

"He delivered on everything that he'd been working towards and he's just going to grow and get better as the year goes on.

"You see a very healthy and happy person walking into your environment, training well, connecting with people, smiling. And they are the things that we have learned to love about Clayton over the journey of his time at the Melbourne Footy Club."

Petty's Potential Return

"He certainly won't play AFL this week," Goodwin says.

"It's been a big part of his program to be AFL-ready for Round 2. What we need to make a decision on, is whether we think VFL footy this week for a half or three quarters is better than a match-type load on a on a Sunday in preparation for next week.

"We'll make that decision post-training, but we're probably leaning towards him playing some VFL footy this week.

"He's as fit as I've seen him for, for a while and he'll be playing next week."

Selection Headaches

"We're starting to get some competition back for spots, especially in the forward half of the ground," Goodwin says.

"Ben Brown’s been back playing some VFL footy, Tom Fullarton is back playing VFL footy. Obviously Harrison Petty's coming back next week and Tom McDonald has played two games as well."

Welcome Back Kozzy

"Jeez, we missed him. He’s a pretty good player Koz," Goodwin said.

"To get him back obviously in the front half of the ground where he has his biggest impact, but also around stoppage and centre bounce, I think we saw through the pre-season he's evolving into a pretty damaging stoppage player.

"It's going to be great to get Koz back into our team. He’s an exciting player and one our supporters love."