IN: Bennell, Neal-Bullen, Tomlinson, vandenBerg
OUT: M.Hannan, O.McDonald, T.McDonald, K.Pickett (ankle)
A fresh look in forward half
Melbourne has left three forwards out of its side following last week’s 51-point loss to the Power, naming Harley Bennell, Alex Neal-Bullen and Aaron vandenBerg for the clash at Adelaide Oval.
Facing the bottom of the table Crows, the Dees have opted for a new set-up inside 50, while also adding some run to the wing with Adam Tomlinson returning for his fifth game with the club.
The ones that missed
Kysaiah Pickett will miss Wednesday night’s game with a minor ankle injury, while Mitch Hannan, Oscar McDonald and Tom McDonald have all been left out of the 22.
This will see the Demons take a smaller line-up into Round 10, looking to secure their fourth win of 2020 and remain in touch with the top eight.
What it means
You never want to say do-or-die, but if Melbourne was to lose to Adelaide, its finals chances would be slowly slipping away.
The positive for the Dees is they've played one less game than 16 other teams, so a win would put them in the mix, with a North Melbourne encounter to come on Sunday.
Look out for
The contested ball battle gets spoken about week after week, and it’s an area the Demons pride themselves on.
They were beaten in the middle by the Power, and they’ll be desperate to get on top of the Crows, who have struggled in that facet of the game this season.
Oppo watch
Matthew Nicks will be looking to avoid an unwanted record this week, as a loss would see him become the first senior coach to drop his first 10 games at the helm.
While Adelaide is yet to register a win, it came close to the Dons in Round 8 and shouldn’t be taken lightly in front of a big home crowd.
