Updated, 6.30pm Thursday
Ins and Outs
FORMER Melbourne co-captain Jack Trengove will make his long-awaited return for Saturday’s clash with Hawthorn at the MCG.
It’s been more than two years – 797 days, to be exact – since the most recent of Trengove’s 81 AFL matches.
Trengove is one of five inclusions for the Demons.
The Demons are without defender Col Garland (injury) and influential midfielder Jack Viney (injury/suspension). Ben Kennedy, Alex Neal-Bullen and Ben Newton have all been omitted.
Coming into the Demons' side, alongside Trengove, are key position players Chris Dawes and Sam Frost, plus midfielders Aaron vandenBerg and Clayton Oliver.
What to expect
Melbourne will be looking to rebound quickly from last week’s loss to Port Adelaide, and a win against Hawthorn could catapult the Demons into the top eight.
The Demons have a 5-5 win-loss record over the first 10 rounds and have been playing an entertaining brand of football.
They rank third in the AFL for goals scored, and their success has been built around winning the clearances (ranked second in the AFL) and contested ball (ranked fourth in AFL).
The Demons have a bevy of ball-winners, in the likes of Nathan Jones, Bernie Vince and Dom Tyson, one of the competition’s leading ruckmen in Max Gawn, and a potent forward line featuring Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts and Jeff Garlett.
Expect the Demons to look to take the game on, move the ball quickly, and give their forwards a chance one-on-one.
Players to watch
The Demons have no shortage of good players.
It will be interesting to see how Jack Trengove fares in his return match, while the Demons have a new-look side from our most recent clash, in Round 7 last season.
Hogan (26 goals) demands respect as the Demons’ number one forward option, while the Hawks will be desperate to negate Gawn’s influence on the contest.
Gawn is averaging a league-best 40.7 hit-outs per game, helping bring Jones (26.9 disposals per game), Vince (24.9) and Tyson (22.7) into the game on a regular basis.
