Unchanged
For just the second time this season (Round 5 being the other occasion), Melbourne will field an unchanged team.
Following last week’s 56-point win over Collingwood, the Demons have opted for the same 22 to face the Western Bulldogs at Metricon Stadium.
This means, despite some concern around Braydon Preuss’ fitness after leaving Wednesday’s training session early, the ruckman is in the clear to play.
The ones that missed
Skipper Max Gawn will be given another seven days to get his knee right, as he failed to pull up in time to feature in Round 13.
Mitch Brown, Mitch Hannan, Trent Rivers and Joel Smith have missed selection, but will be the team's emergencies for Saturday’s game.
What it means
While this is effectively an eight-point contest, with just percentage separating the Dees and Dogs on the ladder, the game means a whole lot more.
As part of Sir Doug Nicholls Round, the Demons will be wearing a guernsey designed by Neville Jetta and are set to pull on a ‘free the flag’ warm-up top in support of an important cause.
Watch below as Jetta provides an insight into what this round means to him.
Look out for
Melbourne has kicked 17.11 to just 1.3 in its past three last quarters, running away from its opposition late in the game.
Fresh off a seven-day break, it will be interesting to see if the Demons’ fitness is their biggest weapon once again.
Oppo watch
The Dogs are ranked last in the competition for hit-outs with just 19 per game – eight less than any other side – but that hasn’t stopped their midfield in 2020.
With Marcus Bontempelli leading the way, the likes of Jack Macrae, Bailey Smith and Tom Liberatore have won the ball at ease this season, while Lachie Hunter was added to that mix last week in the Dogs' 57-point win over Adelaide.
The Dees will back their own on-ballers, but it’ll be a battle that goes a long way to deciding the result of the game.
