8 hours Ago By Roger Vaughan
Melbourne have made a major selection statement for the start of the AFL season, naming five debutants to play against GWS. Former Brisbane player Harry Sharp will also make his Demons debut in "Jim's Game" at the MCG, which will honour club and AFL great Jim Stynes. There were loud cheers in the changerooms at Melbourne's Casey Fields headquarters on Friday morning as the six newcomers were told the good news.
Last year's first-round draft picks Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay, along with fellow 2024 draftee Aidan Johnson will join Matt Jefferson (2022 draft), and Jack Henderson, who joined the Demons last month, as the debutants. "It's pretty exciting ..
. (it's) a lot, but they're ready to go," said coach Simon Goodwin. Asked about his confidence that they are ready, Goodwin said: "evidence through the pre-season, evidence through the match simulation and training, and the performance they've been putting in.
"Some of their desire to compete has been really high. "We see in the game at the moment if you're prepared to compete and put pressure on the ball, it can take you a long way. "All those guys do that for us.
" Goodwin said Lindsay had been "super-impressive" since overcoming injury when he joined the Demons last year. "He's a smooth mover who uses the ball incredibly well," he said. Goodwin agreed there is some risk in having so many new players.
GWS will be a formidable opponent and they took apart Collingwood last weekend. "Obviously when you're implementing a new way of playing and you combine that with some new players, there's a freshness and a newness to it," Goodwin said. "Cohesion is a big part of footy, so how quickly we adapt and get everyone on the same page is something we're really looking forward to seeing.
"With that comes a little bit of danger in terms of what that might look like, but in terms of the evidence we've been able to see within our training and match simulation, we feel they also understand what their roles require." Melbourne's tumultuous off-season has been well documented and Goodwin's message is that they are now focused on fulfilling their potential as a team. He is rapt that Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca, the subject of much trade speculation after last season, will join Jack Viney and Max Gawn in the midfield.
"For a better word, get the band back together in the midfield, it's fantastic," Goodwin said. "Clayton's had an enormous pre-season and he's as fit as I've seen him for a couple of years. "To get Christian back to full health and playing the way he's playing - I can't wait to see Viney, Oliver, Petracca - the lads going to work inside.
" Goodwin said they are determined to honour Stynes with a big performance against the Giants. "He's been a huge part of our footy club and he's left a huge legacy," Goodwin said of the Brownlow Medallist and former Demons president, who died of cancer in 2012 aged only 45. "We get a chance to honour that.
There's nothing better than having Jim's Game in round one.".
