Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin is “monitoring” the continued health of star captain Max Gawn as he shoulders the ruck load one-out however has no intention to relaxation him, with Brodie Grundy set to spend one other week out of the staff.
Gawn has been at his All-Australian greatest previously three weeks, all Melbourne wins, after Goodwin opted to recalibrate the partnership between the skipper and Grundy, who was despatched to the VFL to work on his ahead craft.
That will likely be troublesome for Grundy this week, because the Demons’ VFL staff has a bye, and though Melbourne is taking part in cellar-dwellers North Melbourne on Sunday, Gawn gained’t be rested to accommodate his fellow large man’s return.
Goodwin mentioned an early-season damage break for Gawn, who missed three weeks with a knee damage, has ensured the captain was nonetheless firing regardless of shouldering such an enormous load.
“We certainly won’t push Max too hard, but he has only played 16 games. He missed some games early in the season and we have monitored his load all year,” Goodwin mentioned on Thursday.
“We feel like he’s really fresh at the moment and we want to keep him in that space. He’s in amazing form.
“At this stage, he’s very bubbly and excited about what’s to come. He’s fresh and he’s ready to go.”
Goodwin additionally mentioned the mixture of tall forwards Harrison Petty and Jacob van Rooyen, who kicked 10 targets between them in final week’s win over Richmond, was the “dynamic” look the Demons have been going for, one other barrier to Grundy’s return.
“He (Grundy) knows there might be an opportunity that comes his way, but we’re not going to force it,” Goodwin mentioned.
“We are liking how Brodie is progressing, but we’ll continue to do what’s best for the team, however best we function, and Brodie is still a part of that. We’ll keep assessing it week by week,” he mentioned.
“I can’t predict what’s going to happen in the future. We’ve just got to be prepared to have what our best forward line looks like over the next few weeks and what it might look like if something happens.
“We’ll look to stabilise a little bit down there (the forward line) in the next few weeks. The way Harrison played last week was outstanding and the combination of Jacob and Harrison looked quite dynamic ahead of the ball.”
Midfield star Clayton Oliver is a close to certainty to return in spherical 22 towards Carlton, having not performed since spherical 10 with a hard hamstring damage, aiding the Demons’ trigger to lock in a top-four spot.
“We think that everything being right, he’ll be good to go next week,” Goodwin mentioned.
“We feel like we are in a good position to press forward, but that just doesn’t just happen, you have to work for it and bring purpose to every day you have.”
Originally printed as Melbourne gained’t relaxation Max Gawn to get Brodie Grundy again within the staff
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
