COACH Paul Roos has flagged Dean Terlich as the man most likely to play Neville Jetta’s role this round against Fremantle at TIO Stadium.
Jetta will miss the clash in Darwin due a one-match suspension for engaging in rough conduct against Bulldog Fletcher Roberts during Melbourne’s six-point loss at Etihad Stadium last round.
Although Terlich returned last round – after being an emergency for the previous two rounds – he played a different role against the Dogs, spending time in attack as well as his customary defensive position.
“Terlich came back on the weekend and played forward and back, so he’s probably the automatic one who goes back and gets a high quality player,” Roos told Dee TV’s Roos’ Views.
“It’s an opportunity for someone else to come in from the seconds – the boys in the seconds were very, very poor. But we’ll indentify some of the guys that want to play their roles and want to continue to do that in the seniors.”
Roos said it was frustrating to loss Jetta, given he has been in fine form since working his way back into the side in round five.
He has since played nine of the past 10 matches, after being elevated from the rookie list, missing just Melbourne’s round nine win over Richmond, due to gastro.
“He’s been really consistent, so it’s a bit of a shame, because he worked his way into the team and came off the rookie list and then got reported,” Roos said.
“It’s on the back of Jordie [McKenzie’s] one-match suspension, so we’re pretty disappointed with that as a club. We’ve got to get better at that and our players have got to get better at not putting themselves in those situations.
“He’s certainly going to be a loss, because he’s been a good player.”
Although Terlich hurt his shoulder and was subbed out against the Dogs, Roos said he – and Tom McDonald (calf), who was a late withdrawal in the lead-up to the match – should be right to play against Fremantle.
“We think they’ll both be OK,” he said.
Given Casey’s shocker last round – it lost by 80 points to Williamstown at Casey Fields last Saturday – Roos said he would consult closely with development coaches Brett Allison and Brad Miller to see who was in the mix.
He added that players who had performed consistently over several weeks would only come into consideration.
“We want to reward guys who are in good form and when the seconds aren’t in good form, it impacts us as a footy club. But it also impacts individuals in the seconds.”
“We just can’t play them unless they’re in good form.”
Reflecting on last round’s six-point loss to the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium, Roos said the match was a tale of two halves for both teams.
“I would expect they’d say the same thing, although they deserved to win the game and Brendan [McCartney] would be happy with the win,” he said.
“We played poorly for 40 minutes and then we got back in the game in the third quarter. The last quarter was the game you’d probably expect between two similar teams – it was a pretty even contest in the last quarter.
“They got over the line and deservedly so.”
But Roos said this week’s clash against Freo was going to be another tough encounter, although a great opportunity for his charges.
“We know it’s going to be a really hard game, but for every game we talk about as a learning curve, [it’s about] understanding what the best do and pitting yourself against the best and challenging individual players against some really high players,” he said.
“That’s the way we’re looking at it and it’s exciting for us to get up there to play in Darwin. It’s a great partnership we’ve got with the NT, so that’s good as well.”
