MELBOURNE coach Simon Goodwin is looking forward to tackling a solid outfit against Geelong this week.   

The Demons welcome Geelong to the MCG for the first time 2021, with both teams in the top four, the clash is set to be a contested one.  

Geelong’s strong forward line presence will be a great test for Melbourne’s back-line and stopping the likes of Jeremy Cameron, Tom Hawkins and Gary Rohan. 

With the shortest injury list in the AFL, selection pressure is mounting with several players, such as Lachie Hunter and Shane McAdam having successful returns from injury via the VFL.  

These are the Fujifilm Coach Media Conference Focuses for Round 8.  

Opportunity to Show Prowess Against a Top Side

“If you want to be a top team in the competition you have to be good at all three phases and that’s what Geelong are,” Goodwin said. 

“They’re an unbelievable team in all three phases of the game and that’s the type of team we want to be. 

“This gives us an opportunity. We’ve got five guys who’ve played less than 10 games coming up against a team that’s well experienced and well drilled in all phases. 

“We’re ready. We think we’re trained to a level that will put us in a good position and we’re looking forward to putting on a good performance for our fans.” 

Facing a Dangerous Forward Line

“They’re [Geelong forward line] really dangerous, you look at some of the guys they’ve got in terms of their ability to run with both air and ground,” Goodwin added. 

“Obviously Gary Rohan comes back into the team, you’re got Ollie Henry, Jeremy Cameron and Tyson Stengle is good at ground level and in the air.  

“They’re very dynamic forward half of the ground and it’s really going to come down to how we defend, our ability to defend the ground, our ability to put them in a game that we know we can control.  

“If we can control their ability to get the ball movement going and if we can do that then it’s going to go a long way to winning the game.” 

Keeping Petracca Free to Play His Game

“We’ve been able to work our way through that [A tag on Petracca] over the last three or four weeks,” Goodwin said.

“We feel like we’ve got some better strategies around how to help Christian and how to keep his influence in the game.

“It’s not going to be something that happens this week, it’ll happen right through the year.

“So, we think we’ve been able to work on some things over the last four weeks to get him into a good position, we thought last week he still had a big impact on the game against Richmond.

“There’s still no doubt he’s going to get attention, he’s one of the best players in the comp for a reason, he has impact on the game.”

Lachie Hunter Eyeing Return

“He’s [Lachie Hunter] still working his way back to his best form at VFL level,” Goodwin told the media.

“He’s an experienced player and he’s going to fight for his position in the team,

“What we’ve seen is some of the younger players who were put in the team grab their opportunity and that’s brining a great deal of selection pressure internally which is fantastic.

“But Lach is someone that will fight hard for his position, he’ll play VFL footy again this week and he’s really determined to get back into the team.”

Shane McAdam Knocking Down the Door

“Shanes had an enormous amount of soft tissue history, not only through pre-season and early this season , but his previous time in AFL footy,” Goodwin added.

“Our high performance and medical staff have built an extensive plan out for Shane and part of his process is to have two or three games under his belt in the lead in to being available for selection.

“He played three quarters in the VFL last week, we’ll increase that to a full game and then there’s a short turn around the week after, so he won’t be available for a few weeks.

“But what we are is incredibly excited about what he delivered at the VFL, he’s going to be a really important player for us, he’s exciting for our supporters but we just need to be patient.”