SENIOR assistant coach Simon Goodwin says the match committee will have another good problem when it comes together to select Melbourne’s round two team, which plays Essendon at the MCG on Saturday.
With the club heading towards a full list to choose from, Goodwin said it would be another challenge to select Melbourne’s best available 22 for this weekend.
“We’ve got a lot of depth on our list now,” he told Melbourne TV.
“Some quality players are actually getting back to match fitness – Angus Brayshaw, Lynden Dunn and Heritier Lumumba. Jack Trengove’s playing his first game, as is Christian Petracca, so it’s exciting for the footy club, and it’s challenging.
“But it’s forcing the coaches to actually pick a team that’s based on performance and the behaviours that we’d expect on field. There will be some unlucky players [to miss out on selection] this week.”
Goodwin said it was difficult circumstances for his former side Essendon, but he insisted that Melbourne would not take the Bombers lightly.
“A lot of new players have come into their team, so just trying to get a handle on the way they want to play the game has important for the coaches this week,” he said.
“For us as a playing group and a footy club, we’re focusing on the things that we can control and we want to continue this momentum as a footy club.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re ticking every box every day and respect the nature of the game and come prepared to play and play hard on the weekend.”
With Melbourne looking to notch up back-to-back home and away wins for the first time since rounds 13 and 14, 2011, Goodwin said it wasn’t an issue that had been addressed internally.
“There hasn’t [been any talk about winning two in a row] – it’s been about what we can control,” he said.
“[It’s been about] what we’ve been able to do over the pre-season through the first week and actually focus on what we actually need to get better at.
“It’s really just focusing on what we can control.”