COACH Paul Roos says midfielder Bernie Vince is eagerly-awaiting his return to Adelaide as he takes on his former side the Crows for the first time since he joined the Demons last October.
Roos said Vince had been a fine contributor to the club since his arrival, but added that he would be itching for Saturday afternoon’s clash.
“Certainly, he’ll be pretty nervous. He was a really popular member and I’m sure he’ll be well received over there … it wasn’t his decision to leave – it was more the club’s (Adelaide) decision and we were really fortunate to get him,” he said on Dee TV’s Roos’ Views.
“He’s been a terrific player for us this year, but it’s always nerve-racking [when] you go back and you play against your old side.
“The reception he’ll get will be really positive and I’m sure in some ways he’s looking forward to it and in other ways [he’ll say] ‘let’s get it out of the way as quick as we can’.”
Roos said another Crow – midfielder Aidan Riley – was also not without a chance of playing his first game for the Demons against his former side.
“I think with Aidan it’s just a timing situation. We’re aware that he’s come back from a significant injury and one thing with him – we don’t want to put him in too early,” he said.
“Form wise, he’s been in good form, but there’s a big step up from VFL to senior footy – as much from a running point of view. That’s the biggest thing for us at the moment – it’s a timing thing with Aidan.
“He’ll certainly be in at some point – whether it’s this week or the week after or the week after that. From his point of view, we’ve got to make sure he’s 100 per cent ready from a fitness point of view, before we throw him into AFL footy.”
But Roos said there could be minimal changes at the selection table this round.
“We felt the team performed pretty well last week and also disappointingly, the seconds weren’t great, so with the system we’re trying to set up here, we want guys banging the door down,” he said.
“Not a lot of guys put their hands up in the seconds – there were two or three that did – but then it’s about positions and spots and which spot they take.
“I wouldn’t think there would be significant changes – if any.”
Reflecting on last Saturday night’s 31-point loss to the Sydney Swans at the MCG, Roos said some genuine positives emerged from the match.
He was adamant that Melbourne came up against the best two-way running midfield in the competition, which was invaluable experience for the developing Demons.
“The Swans are one of the best teams in the competition and if we go back to round two against West Coast at the MCG and [we lost by] 93 points – it was our most disappointing loss,” Roos said.
“So to play against a high quality team [that was] premiers a couple of years ago, all but 20 minutes – I thought we were really, really competitive and they kicked four or five of their nine goals within that space of time.
“They run hard defensively and they run hard offensively. It was a good learning curve, particularly for our younger guys – [Dom] Tyson and Jack Viney, Jay Kennedy-Harris played a bit on the wing and Christian [Salem] coming in. So for our young guys, it was a really good learning curve for them.”
Roos said this Saturday’s clash against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval was another challenge for the Demons to take on another hard-running team.
He added that the opportunity to travel interstate was also important for the Dees.
“Having coached an interstate club, it’s not too bad when you get away,” he said.
“Often guys will sit with guys they don’t normally associate with and [they’ll] have dinner with them and have breakfast with them … they’ll spend a bit of time [together].
“From a bonding point of view … I enjoy going away at times with the team and the coaches, so they’re all opportunities for us as a group to get closer together and work hard on what we do.”
