MELBOURNE has added seven players to its squad for this round's clash against Carlton at the MCG.
The Demons have welcomed back goalkickers Jesse Hogan and Jeff Garlett, who have been named in the starting 18.
Former co-captain Jack Trengove, forward Dean Kent, speedster Jay Kennedy-Harris, tall Sam Weideman and rookie Joel Smith have also been brought into the mix.
Trengove, Kent, Kennedy-Harris, Weideman and J.Smith have been named on the extended interchange, along with youngster Billy Stretch and rebounder Josh Wagner.
As announced earlier in the week, co-captain Jack Viney (plantar fascia) and utility Tom Bugg (six-match suspension) are out of the side. And ball-winner Dom Tyson was unable to come up after hurting his knee late in Melbourne’s 35-point loss to the Sydney Swans at the MCG last Friday night.
Defender Mitch White has been omitted, after he played his first match of the season last round.
For Hogan, it will be just his fifth match this season, as the young-gun has had to deal with a challenging year.
After being suspended for two matches, which forced him to miss rounds three and four, Hogan returned to play against Richmond at the MCG in round five, but did not play the next week, following the sad passing of his father, Tony.
Hogan returned to play against Hawthorn in round seven – his most recent match of any sorts – before he missed the next eight weeks with testicular cancer.
Despite all this, the 22-year old has remarkably bounced back to be named in the starting 18 for Melbourne’s second clash against Carlton this year – an outstanding effort, given what he has been through in 2017.
In other good news, Garlett is back in the side after missing his first match for the season last round with a hamstring injury. The 27-year-old has kicked 29 goals this season to lead Melbourne’s goalkicking and has been one of the stories of the season for the Demons.
Others back in frame for a recall are Smith, Trengove, Kent, Kennedy-Harris and Weideman.
Smith, who was named Melbourne’s ‘nominated rookie’ earlier on Thursday (meaning he is eligible to play in the AFL for the rest of the season), is in line to play his second AFL game.
The son of fellow high-flyer Shaun made his debut in round one this year during Melbourne’s win over St Kilda at Etihad Stadium. In that same match, Smith injured his shoulder and missed the next 13 matches.
He made his comeback last weekend for Casey in its loss to Port Melbourne at North Port Oval, but impressed with 21 disposals, eight marks, four tackles and five rebounds.
Trengove, who was an emergency last round, has yet to play an AFL match this season. But the popular Demon remains on the cusp of selection, after some impressive VFL form this year.
Kent has played four matches this season and Kennedy-Harris has featured in three games, but the duo was not considered for selection last round, after breaking a team rule.
They have otherwise been in good form with Casey, with Kennedy-Harris recently notching up a couple of 40-plus disposal performances and Kent winning 35 touches in a match.
And Weideman, who kicked six goals for Casey a couple of weeks ago, is again in contention to play, after being named an emergency last round.
The 22 will be finalised on Friday evening, with the match to be played at 3.20pm on Sunday.
Melbourne team: round 16
B: Michael Hibberd, Oscar McDonald, Neville Jetta
HB: Jordan Lewis, Sam Frost, Bernie Vince
C: Jayden Hunt, Christian Petracca, Mitch Hannan
HF: James Harmes, Cam Pedersen, Alex Neal-Bullen
F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Tom McDonald
Foll: Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Jake Melksham
I/C (from): Billy Stretch, Jack Trengove, Dean Kent, Jay Kennedy-Harris, Josh Wagner, Sam Weideman, Joel Smith
In: Garlett, Trengove, Kent, Hogan, Kennedy-Harris, Weideman, J.Smith
Out: Tom Bugg (suspension), Dom Tyson (knee), Jack Viney (foot), Mitch White
