Unbeaten Melbourne will weigh up the benefits of recalling Ben Brown off a compromised preparation, including likely having to drop last week’s four-goal hero Sam Weideman.
Brown missed Friday night’s victory over Essendon because he was in the AFL’s health and safety protocols as a close Covid contact and won’t come out of isolation until Thursday.
The Demons face Port Adelaide on the same night – their second-straight six-day break – and coach Simon Goodwin confirmed they wouldn’t play all of Brown, Weideman and Tom McDonald.
But All-Australian defender Jake Lever (foot) is as good as certain to play his first game of the season, probably at the expense of Adam Tomlinson or Joel Smith.
“Not seeing (Brown) for the week is some concern,” Goodwin said.
“But it’s a situation that a lot of clubs are going to have to face throughout the year about how and when guys come out of Covid protocols and are they ready to perform and play – and we’re no different.
“We want to look at every situation for what it is … and ultimately we’ve got to come up with a solution for guys to come out and perform.”
Weideman, who was drafted one selection before Coleman medallist Harry McKay in 2015, continues to live on Melbourne’s fringes and his latest opportunity came because of Brown’s misfortune.
The 24-year-old has played only six of the Demons’ past 28 games but looked every bit a senior footballer against the Bombers with a career-best four goals from seven scoring shots.
“Sam’s been working incredibly hard on his game and he came in on the weekend and performed really strongly, which is great for our footy club and great for our footy team,” Goodwin said.
“But it does give us a selection headache.
“He reminded us all of his ability … and I was just rapt that our supporters were able to see that – and our coaches and players – and he reminded us of how good a player that he can become.”
Reigning premier Melbourne’s 3-0 start comes despite being challenged late in every match, but Goodwin’s side has demolished opponents in contested possession each time.
“We’re really happy with where we’ve been positioning our team and I think the challenge that we‘ve got is to not look for perfection,” he said.
“One thing we are is we’re a blue-collar team. We defend really well and we win the contest and it makes us really hard to play against.
“We’ve been really strong in those phases of the game.”
Michael Hibberd (calf) is still a fortnxjmtzywight from returning but fellow premiership defender Harry Petty (calf) is set to play about three quarters in the VFL this week.
Goodwin also insisted Christian Petracca’s knee was “100 per cent” but he experienced swelling from time to time in it.
