Jurrah pushing for call-up
Melbourne could unveil its fifth debutant of the 2009 season in the form of exciting forward Liam Jurrah
On the back of last year's No.1 NAB AFL Draft choice Jack Watts debuting in round 11, Jurrah could become the fifth Demon to debut this year, also joining Jamie Bennell, Kyle Cheney and Neville Jetta.
Jurrah, the No.1 pick in last year's NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft, has impressed in recent weeks for Melbourne's VFL affiliate side Casey.
The indigenous forward from Yuendumu in Central Australia has booted 11 goals in the past three matches for the Scorpions to be right in the mix for Melbourne's first match in the second half of the season.
"Liam's form in the last couple of weeks has been pretty good, so he's obviously under some consideration for this week," Bailey told melbournefc.com.au.
In a wide-ranging interview, Bailey also confirmed that No.1 draft pick jack watts, who made his much celebrated debut against Collingwood in round 11, would back up for a second senior match against Essendon on Friday night.
"For Jack's first game, he got a really important taste of it and feel for the game," Bailey said of Watts' Queen's Birthday debut against the Pies.
"He's very competitive and has a real inner drive, so I reckon it was a great opportunity for him and I reckon it's going to hold him in good stead.
"He'll play against the Bombers on Friday night."
On the injury front, Bailey doesn't expect livewire forward Austin Wonaeamirri to play for at least another month and he would be surprised if defender Colin Garland, who has been sidelined with a foot injury since round two, reappeared in 2009.
"Aussie has had terrible luck. He tore a lateral meniscus and at the moment, he's still rehabbing, so he's probably another three or four weeks away from training and playing. From round 16 onwards, I'd like to think he'd be available," Bailey said.
"Just before the Hawthorn NAB Cup game down in Launceston in February, Aussie was flying and had set himself up for a fantastic year, but he's had a hamstring and now this injury. It was going to be a promising year, from what he had build on last year."
"I doubt Col will be able to come back and play this year. It would be a huge effort from him, but [it's a matter of] whether we put that pressure on him. He's out of the boot and he's starting to swim."