COACH Dean Bailey says two or three players will be looked at closely for promotion following Saturday’s 20-point loss to St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.
With defender Luke Tapscott (hamstring) now under an injury cloud, Bailey said he would consider making more than one change for next Friday night’s clash against Carlton at the MCG.
“Our Casey team didn’t play, so there is nothing on form for this weekend,” he said post-match.
“But the guys who played very well last week; there would be a couple - two or three - in the VFL that have been consistently playing well.”
However, Bailey was pleased with first-gamer Michael Evans, the return of midfielder Jordie McKenzie and the further development of ball-magnet Jordan Gysberts.
“We debuted young Evans today, who I thought was pretty good,” he said.
“For a young guy to play his first game and have 27 possessions and five tackles, I thought he added a little bit. For a young bloke to come on from the rookie list and show that he’s got a good future - it was terrific to see him play well.
“Jordie McKenzie back in the team was good and Gysberts gets another game of playing well, so a lot of young guys hung in there and you could see they were desperate near the end.”
Overall, Bailey said Melbourne’s endeavour was an improvement on its 41-point loss against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium last round.
“I thought our effort was better than last week,” he said.
“We turned the ball over in our back 50 two or three times and we coughed up goals. Our kicking inside 50 let us down - there’s no doubt about that.
“Probably [other than] for areas in our back 50 where we coughed goals up, I thought it was a pretty even game, outside of that. But the scoreboard tells the story always.”
With defender Luke Tapscott (hamstring) now under an injury cloud, Bailey said he would consider making more than one change for next Friday night’s clash against Carlton at the MCG.
“Our Casey team didn’t play, so there is nothing on form for this weekend,” he said post-match.
“But the guys who played very well last week; there would be a couple - two or three - in the VFL that have been consistently playing well.”
However, Bailey was pleased with first-gamer Michael Evans, the return of midfielder Jordie McKenzie and the further development of ball-magnet Jordan Gysberts.
“We debuted young Evans today, who I thought was pretty good,” he said.
“For a young guy to play his first game and have 27 possessions and five tackles, I thought he added a little bit. For a young bloke to come on from the rookie list and show that he’s got a good future - it was terrific to see him play well.
“Jordie McKenzie back in the team was good and Gysberts gets another game of playing well, so a lot of young guys hung in there and you could see they were desperate near the end.”
Overall, Bailey said Melbourne’s endeavour was an improvement on its 41-point loss against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium last round.
“I thought our effort was better than last week,” he said.
“We turned the ball over in our back 50 two or three times and we coughed up goals. Our kicking inside 50 let us down - there’s no doubt about that.
“Probably [other than] for areas in our back 50 where we coughed goals up, I thought it was a pretty even game, outside of that. But the scoreboard tells the story always.”
