MELBOURNE has announced its team for the opening JLT match against Richmond at Deakin Reserve in Shepparton this Sunday.
The Demons have named a strong side as they look to get some match fitness into some senior players ahead of the season proper.
“The majority of the squad will be out there, but we’ll rest one or two players given we had a reasonable hit out against Collingwood last week,” assistant coach Ben Mathews told Melbourne Media.
Clayton Oliver and Tom McDonald are two big names who have been included in the 30-man squad for this weekend, with the pair overcoming respective injuries in time for the match.
“Clayton Oliver should play at least a half to three quarters of the game and Tom McDonald will play the same,” Mathews said.
“Bayley Fritsch will also come back in after AFLX last week.”
Co-captains Jack Viney and Nathan Jones won’t be lining up this weekend but are back in full training and expected to have a hit out prior to Round 1.
Mathews is looking forward to the challenge of facing the Tigers as it gives the red and blue a chance to measure themselves against one of the league’s best sides.
“We’re looking for a really competitive performance,” Mathews said.
“We’re playing a really good team in Richmond. They’re well drilled and a mature team.
“It’s a great challenge for us and being up against a good team is a good way to see where you’re at.”
Although securing the win isn’t crucial in the JLT Community Series, Mathews is hoping to see his side implement some things that have been worked on over the off-season.
“It’s really about us executing a lot of the things we trained over summer,” he said.
“Obviously our contest is a really strong facet of our game and we want that to continue to be nice and strong.
“But we also really want to defend the ground well and hopefully keep the ball in our forward half.
“And then offensively we want to move the ball reasonably quickly which most teams do as well.”
This week’s game provides an important opportunity for the playing group to get some competitive game time under their belt and put their pre-season’s work into practice.
“It’s going to be nice and warm,” Mathews said.
“They’re great conditions really to test yourself after the summer of training and see how your fitness levels hold up and how your execution under fatigue holds up, so that’s great.
“We have two games – it’s not a lot of time but we’re all in the same boat, Richmond as well, so they’ll be looking for the same things.”
The Demons first JLT match kicks off at 4:40pm on Sunday.
Full squad
- Christian Salem
- James Harmes
- Christian Petracca
- Charlie Spargo
- Angus Brayshaw
- Max Gawn
- Clayton Oliver
- Michael Hibberd
- Billy Stretch
- Sam Frost
- Corey Maynard
- Braydon Preuss
- Aaron vandenBerg
- James Jordon
- Jay Kennedy Harris
- Tom McDonald
- Sam Weideman
- Oscar McDonald
- Jayden Hunt
- Alex Neal-Bullen
- Bayley Fritsch
- Tom Sparrow
- Marty Hore
- Harry Petty
- Jeff Garlett
- Neville Jetta
- Corey Wagner
- Josh Wagner
- Joel Smith
- Declan Keilty
