MELBOURNE will look to bounce back from its disappointing three-point loss to Brisbane last week when it hosts the West Coast Eagles at the ‘G on Sunday.
With a number of players set to test their fitness ahead of the Round 17 clash, Simon Goodwin joined media to discuss the possibilities of selection and how the Dees will tackle the challenge of star Eagle Harley Reid.
Selection Tests
"[Jake Bowey, Christian Salem and Harrison Petty] are all at different stages of their week, but we’re really confident that Bowey and Salem will be available if they get through training today," Goodwin said.
"Harrison has got a little bit of a lighter day today, but he'll certainly be a test come our captain's run later in the week.
"So, we'll wait and see on Harrison, but the other two, we're really confident that they'll play and be available."
West Coast Redemption
“It wasn't too long ago that we played West Coast at their best,” Goodwin said.
“Five weeks ago, obviously in Perth they dominated the game and clearly beat us in the middle of the ground.
“So, we certainly know what their best looks like and we'll be preparing for that. They're a high-quality midfield group, that, at their best, can dominate games of footy.
“Our boys are certainly going to be ready, they're on edge for what's possible from West Coast and the way that they play. We’ve done a lot of work on them this week, and we feel like we're well prepared."
Harley Reid Challenge
“We'll be prepared for Harley Reid this time," Goodwin said.
"He showed us last time what he's capable of, to a really high level.
"We'll have some plans in place to make sure that he won't have the impact that he had on the game last time, and that's one of our challenges for the weekend, is to make sure that isn't the case.
"Our midfield need to respond in that area this week against a high quality midfield group."
Ladder Position
“I think what we do know is if we play a certain way, we can play some really dominant footy," Goodwin said.
"The ladder position for me right now is irrelevant in the run home, it's about playing our best footy and you saw last week with our pressure and our contest work to a higher level, what it provided for us ahead of the ball.
"That's our challenge, to do that week after week and quarter after quarter, and if we can do that, the ladder will just look after itself.
"We're all about how do we get the process right, and we've seen in the last few weeks that we're heading in the right direction with that. But we've got to do it more and we've got to do it for longer and we've got to start to finish games off well."
