MELBOURNE has made one change for its second preliminary final clash against West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Demons have recalled defender Joel Smith and left out utility Bayley Fritsch.
The emergencies are midfielder/forward Jay Kennedy Harris, dasher Jayden Hunt, Fritsch and versatile tall Tim Smith.
Smith will play his eighth match of the season, and his first for Melbourne since its round 20 win against the Gold Coast Suns at the MCG, after he missed three matches with a collarbone injury from rounds 21 to 23.
But he has played in Casey’s past two finals wins and impressed. His desperate save in defence last week was one of Casey’s best pieces of play in its win over the Bombers.
For the unlucky Fritsch, it will be the second match he has missed this year.
The only other game he was out of the 22 this year was when he was an emergency for Melbourne’s round five clash against Richmond on Anzac Eve.
Coach Simon Goodwin said he was rapt with his side’s first semi-final win over Hawthorn, but was adamant his side could go to another level.
“It was a fantastic result for the footy club last Friday night against the Hawks. The boys have been able to handle these moments incredibly well,” he said.
“I certainly didn’t think we were playing our best footy and still think that we’ve got plenty of growth and I think that’s the challenge for us this week – to really get back to our best footy.
“In saying that, there was a lot of character in the win, the way we went about it.”
Overall, Goodwin said his side was ready to tackle West Coast, for the second time in just over a month.
“There is a huge amount of excitement going over to [Perth to] feature in our first prelim as a group together,” he said.
“[I] can’t wait – it’s going to be a huge challenge, but we know what we need to do in the game.
“There are some critical elements that we need to get right. But I know these boys – they’re up for it and they’ve got a hunger in their eye and they want more. It’s going to be great to get away and we’re on a mission and we want to do you guys proud.”
Melbourne team: second preliminary final
B: Neville Jetta, Oscar McDonald, Jordan Lewis
HB: Christian Salem, Sam Frost, Michael Hibberd
C: Mitch Hannan, Nathan Jones, Angus Brayshaw
HF: Jake Melksham, Tom McDonald, James Harmes
F: Aaron vandenBerg, Sam Weideman, Alex Neal-Bullen
Foll: Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney
I/C: Christian Petracca, Charlie Spargo, Dom Tyson, Joel Smith
Emg: Jay Kennedy Harris, Jayden Hunt, Bayley Fritsch, Tim Smith
In: J.Smith
Out: Fritsch
