ASSISTANT coach Justin Plapp says several players are putting their hand-up at the selection table in the lead-up to Melbourne’s clash with Fremantle at TIO Stadium in Darwin.

Plapp, now the midfield coach after guiding Casey to a Grand Final in 2016, said no decision had yet to be made on this week’s team, although a handful of players would be discussed for a promotion in round 16.

“The great thing at the moment is that Casey is performing at a really high standard, and players within that are performing,” he told Melbourne Media.

“The likes of Billy Stretch, Declan Keilty, Cam Pedersen and Sam Frost continue to push for senior selection. We’re in a position that if those guys are selected, we’ve got confidence in them to perform.

“The thing at the moment is that we’ve got a healthy list and there is a lot of synergy with those boys and they play with a great system. [Casey coach] Jade [Rawlings] is doing a fantastic job with them.”

Reflecting on Sunday’s disappointing two-point loss to St Kilda at the MCG, Plapp said the team was frustrated by the result, but already focused on hitting back this weekend.

“We’re very disappointed from the weekend. We felt we were down in a lot of areas, but we were still pretty close to giving ourselves a chance,” Plapp said.

“But we’ve bounced back into our week, and we’re finding some clear solutions about how we’re going to improve as a group.

“Some of the things we were doing really well early in the year, we’ve just got to fix those areas up and we know the players are capable of doing it. We’ve got to realign around some areas.”

“We’re excited about the opportunity and this week’s game in Darwin and hopefully we can go up there and get a win.”

But Plapp couldn’t speak highly enough of ruckman Max Gawn, who had a brilliant game against the Saints – earning a perfect 10 votes in the AFLCA voting.

“He was outstanding on the weekend. For a number of players that stood up, he was one that played the right way. His behaviours were really strong and he was able to go back and help our defenders,” he said.

“His aerial part of his game was as good as I’ve seen it, and his ability to follow-up and get from contest to contest was very good, so full credit to him.

“He’s a really good season and he’s leading the way in that area of the game at the moment.”

Meanwhile, Plapp backed ball-winner Corey Maynard to bounce back strongly from a season-ending hip injury.

“He’s had both of his hips done and he’s not in the club as much at the moment, but he’s in pretty good spirits,” he said.

“After having any major surgery like that, he’s going to be a bit slow for a while. But he’s a terrific character and he’s already looking at what his plan looks like for training – he’s really hungry.

“It’s disappointing what’s happened to him – it’s a bit of a speed hump in his progression, but we think what he’s had done, it’ll set him up to really attack training.”