MELBOURNE is preparing for Tom McDonald's return to the forward line against Hawthorn at the MCG on Saturday, but Sam Weideman is no certainty to join him as the Demons look at ways to help him rediscover his best form.
Sending Weideman, who played his 26th match against Richmond on Anzac Day Eve, back to play for Casey in the VFL is one of those options, according to coach Simon Goodwin.
But a decision on whether the 21-year-old will play against the Hawks at AFL level is still yet to be made.
After a breakout finals series last year, headlined by his three goals in a best afield effort against Geelong in the elimination final, Weideman has kicked just five goals from six matches this season and has struggled to assert himself on games.
"That's the decision we'll have to make, where he's best placed to continue his development. Those conversations we'll continue to have at match committee and we obviously engage Sam in those discussions as well," Goodwin said on Wednesday.
"But he trained really strongly today, as did Tom McDonald. So we're looking forward to those two boys getting back to their best."
Goodwin all but guaranteed McDonald would play in the forward line after his one-week stint as a defender in a role against Tom Lynch, part of a series of positional changes the Demons swung against the Tigers.
The Melbourne coach said Weideman, pick No.9 in the 2015 NAB AFL Draft, was still working to establish himself as a consistent AFL player.
"Sam's a developing player. The expectation for Sam is really, really high, externally especially," Goodwin said.
"Internally, (we understand) he's played 26 games and as a key forward at 26 games he's evolving at the speed that we thought he would.
"There's a lot of pressure on him and he wants to play better, and he needs to play a little bit better.
"But, at the same time after 26 games, we need to give the kid time to play the game and develop, and you'll see improvement over a period of time in guys like Sam."
Goodwin said Jayden Hunt (back tightness) would be right to play against the Hawks, while Christian Petracca was managed through Wednesday's session and Max Gawn left the track early to attend to a personal commitment.
Corey Wagner, Josh Wagner, Oscar McDonald, Harrison Petty and Declan Keilty would all come into the selection frame, with the Demons needing to replace co-captain Jack Viney, who is out for two weeks with a shoulder injury.
Melbourne has taken the time between the clash against the Tigers and the Hawks to take stock, with the main focus of looking forward and not back on a disastrous start to 2019.
"I think where we sit at the moment at 1-5 and on the bottom of the ladder, people will have their opinions, and it's hard to argue with those opinions," Goodwin said.
"What we are doing is focusing on what we can do. Keep looking at each player's development plans, keep looking at how they're going to improve, and keep looking at our program to see where that growth is going to come from.
"We're really confident that we're going to head in the right direction for the rest of the season."
The Demons had breast cancer survivor, Amber – who was diagnosed with the disease aged 28 in 2015 –and speak to the players on Wednesday morning as part of the build-up to the Pink Lady match for cancer awareness.
Amber's message to the players was to "keep fighting" and to be fearless, with Goodwin saying that line of thinking resonated with the team.
"That's what we've been speaking about. It's about what you can do, not what you can't do," he said.
"What we can do is try to re-establish what we're trying to do as a footy club and what we're trying to build."
