REIGNING best and fairest winner Bernie Vince says his team is preparing for a big game against the Crows at the MCG on Sunday, which coincides with the first anniversary of the tragic passing of former Adelaide coach Phil Walsh.

Vince, also a club champion winner with Adelaide, said having spoken to some of his former teammates, he understood the impact Walsh had on the Crows during his brief time with the club.

“It’s a big game playing against your old team, but being the anniversary [of Walsh’s passing], they want to handle it pretty privately, speaking to a few of the guys,” he said from AAMI Park on Wednesday.

“I’m sure they’ll be trying to get up for him to win.

“We’ll be preparing for their best, so we do that with every team. Whether they find an extra little bit in his (Walsh) honour, we’ll see Sunday. We’ll prepare for their best, but I think they’re going to handle things pretty privately.”

Vince said Walsh “had a huge impact on a lot of those guys in a very short time”.

“He’s probably a big reason why they’re going so well now,” he said.

“They’ve built a really good foundation of how to play and turn the footy club around.

“He certainly had a big impact, especially the leaders at the club, which he had a lot to do with.”

Honing in on Melbourne’s first match since its mid-season bye, Vince said the players and coaches had reflected on the importance of the second half of the season.

“It’s huge and we only spoke about it yesterday (Tuesday). These nine [remaining home and away matches] are almost like a mini-season for us,” he said.

“We need to beat a lot of teams in the eight, in these next nine weeks, but the Crows and West Coast and those [teams] around the six to 11 range on the ladder is really important to win.

“It’s (this round) like a double win or an eight-point game, but you can’t just be looking at them (Adelaide) – we’ve got to plan to beat everyone we play.”

Vince said there wasn’t one particular ex-teammate he was looking forward to coming up against on the weekend.

“All of them as a whole. They’re in really good form and they’ve won the last five in a row, so they’re playing some really good footy, but we’ll come across all of them,” he said.

Asked which club was closer to a premiership, Melbourne or Adelaide, Vince had no hesitation in saying his current club.

“I wouldn’t be here, if I didn’t think we could win a premiership in my time,” he said.

“I think we can.”

Meanwhile, Vince said former co-captain Jack Grimes, who has been knocking on the door of selection all season, could be a chance to play his first game this round.  

“I think Jack Grimes has been a bit stiff not to play for a while now,” he said.

“Matty Jones is playing some pretty good footy after missing with his rib, but the good thing at our footy club is that we’ve got some good depth now. Our VFL team is playing really well and is sitting on top of the ladder.

“It’s really healthy for spots now. If you’re playing, you deserve your spot. That’s really healthy at our footy club.”

Vince said Grimes was a popular figure among the players, but acknowledged the determined utility could consider his options at the end of the season.

“The boys love Jack. When I first came here, he was captain of the footy club. He was thrown into the role at a pretty young age,” he said.

“He was a Melbourne supporter growing up and he’s on 98 games, so it’ll be good to get him to 100 pretty soon. He’s been an emergency 10 times this year, so he’s been pretty stiff and it means he’s pretty close. I’m sure he’ll be in the team soon.

“All players look for other options, if they’re not getting games at footy clubs, and we’re seeing it more and more. I can’t see him being out of the team for too much longer, if he keeps his good form up in the VFL, because he’s been awesome there.”

Vince said first-year key tall Liam Hulett, who has impressed as a goalkicker for Casey, was not without a chance of debuting this year.

“He’s one of those guys who has been performing well in the VFL,” he said.

“He’s been kicking goals, so he’s certainly putting his hand up and he’ll be spoken about.

“But I’m not sure whether he’ll play this week or not.”