MELBOURNE has made one change for Saturday night’s clash against the Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval.
The Demons have recalled tough-nut Dean Kent for speedster Jay Kennedy-Harris. Utility Alex Neal-Bullen, winger Billy Stretch and tall forward Sam Weideman have been named emergencies.
It will be Kent’s third match of the season, after he came back from a pre-season back injury to play in rounds three and four against Geelong and Fremantle respectively.
Kennedy-Harris has played the past three matches after a broken arm delayed the start of his season.
Coach Simon Goodwin said Kent had earned his recall following some impressive form with Casey Demons.
“We’ve been getting Dean to work on a few things in his game at VFL level and he’s shown some real improvement over the last couple of weeks, so he comes into the team,” he told Melbourne TV.
“Jay Kennedy-Harris has been omitted and similar to Dean, he’ll go back [to Casey] and work on some things that we want him to work on at VFL level.”
Goodwin said last round’s three-point loss to Hawthorn at the MCG was a “disappointing day for the footy club”, particularly the opening term.
“Our first 40 minutes didn’t resemble the way that we wanted to play and to the boys’ credit, the response that we got out of them throughout the third quarter and the second half was very good,” he said.
“It’s something that we’ve seen all year – we’ve been in front or level for seven games this year and we’re giving ourselves opportunities. As we mature and develop as a team and continue to grow, we’ll turn those opportunities into wins.
“Although it was disappointing, we’re still giving ourselves opportunities to win, which was a positive.”
Looking ahead to Melbourne’s first interstate trip of the season, Goodwin said the Crows would be a genuine challenge for his group, but one he was eager to see unfold, especially in fan favourite Bernie Vince’s 200th AFL game.
“It’s a great opportunity for the group to go away and galvanise themselves on their first away trip to Adelaide,” he said.
“It’s Bernie’s 200th and he’s been a fantastic player – not only for Adelaide, but also for Melbourne and to be able to play each other at the Adelaide Oval is a big game for Bernie, but also a big game for us.
“We’re looking forward to getting away as a team and really putting on a performance that gives us another opportunity to get a positive result.”
Melbourne team: round eight
B: Michael Hibberd, Tom McDonald, Neville Jetta
HB: Jayden Hunt, Sam Frost, Bernie Vince
C: Nathan Jones, Jack Viney, Christian Salem
HF: Christian Petracca, Jack Watts, Clayton Oliver
F: Jeff Garlett, Jesse Hogan, Mitch Hannan
Foll: Cam Pedersen, Jordan Lewis, Dom Tyson
I/C: Dean Kent, O.McDonald, Tom Bugg, Josh Wagner
Emg: Alex Neal-Bullen, Billy Stretch, Sam Weideman
In: Kent
Out: Jay Kennedy-Harris
