ONE THING getting Melbourne fans through the off-season was the hope of seeing Ben Brown and Sam Weideman line up in the same forward line in 2021.
And while that remains an exciting proposition, it won’t be in Round 1.
The pair have both faced injury setbacks in recent weeks, but GM of AFL Football Performance Alan Richardson isn’t panicking just yet.
“It’s obviously disappointing - they’re going to miss the start of the season, both lads,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“Browny … with the [knee] cartilage. We’re hoping that he’d be back between Round 4 and Round 6 - it will depend a little bit on how he responds to his program.
“Weids just kept getting sore in the top part of his thigh.
“We presumed it was actually his hip, and so he went in for X-rays and it ended up being a crack in his femur – an unusual one.
“The same sort of time frame, which means potentially … we could be a little bit light on.”
Despite missing two big names for the early part of 2021, the Demons do have some players who can stand up in that area.
“We’ve still got Tommy Mac who’s training really well, Luke Jackson is also an incredibly exciting young player – only his second year, (Mitch) Brown, Harrison Petty can go forward and has done so,” Richardson said.
“So we’ve still got some depth there, but if we continue to get injuries it just makes things a bit light.”
And that’s why former Kangaroo Majak Daw, who has played 54 games at the top level, has been invited to train with the club for the remainder of the pre-season.
“Timing’s a bit of an issue for us,” Richardson said.
“Majak, we think he has the attributes to be able to support us in a couple of areas, and one of those being where we’ve lost a couple of players – key forward.
“He’s kicked six goals in an AFL game, last year post his return to play when he predominantly played ruck, in fact his performance was so good in centre bounce in particular that (Todd) Goldstein would start forward.
“So that gives us potentially a bit of flexibility, if it is that we needed him.
“Our hope would be that the guys that I mentioned earlier, Tommy Mac and co, will be able to get the job done and stay injury free.
“But if it is that we’ve got injuries, we think that he’s probably the person that would be the most ready to be AFL fit at the start of the year.”
Melbourne has two spots remaining on its rookie list for the 2021 season, with the opportunity to select Daw during the Pre-Season Supplemental Selection Period prior to Round 1.
