Angus Brayshaw expects captain Max Gawn to renew his formidable partnership with Brodie Grundy as Melbourne search to reveal Richmond’s makeshift ruck division.
Gawn has re-joined full coaching this week after lacking three matches with a knee harm and is firming for a return within the Monday night time’s AFL contest on the MCG.
He has been named in an prolonged squad, with fellow premiership stars Jake Lever (ankle) and Michael Hibberd (Achilles) additionally in line to return from accidents.
“He (Gawn) looks like he’s moving pretty well,” Demons midfielder Brayshaw advised reporters on Thursday.
“I hope he plays. He’s been doing a lot of work, so his hand’s up in the air, for sure.
“The quantity of labor he does behind the scenes is immense. He’s an actual skilled. If it is potential then I’m certain he’ll discover a approach.”
A return of the Gawn-Grundy combination would give Melbourne a significant advantage against a Richmond outfit missing a host of talls, including first-choice ruckman Toby Nankervis (ankle) and key forward Tom Lynch (foot).
The Tigers turned to inexperienced duo Samson Ryan and Ben Miller to shoulder ruck duties in a loss to Sydney last week.
The inexperienced pair have played fewer than 20 games between them, while seasoned big men Gawn (183) and Grundy (182) boast a combined eight All-Australian blazers.
Grundy has impressed Melbourne teammates since his high-profile move from Collingwood in the off-season, particularly with Gawn out injured.
“Brodie’s been superior however collectively, the 2 of them, they will truly enhance one another and profit from taking part in with one another,” Brayshaw mentioned.
“They’ve solely performed a few video games collectively, in order that they’ll proceed to develop and develop, however I believe it is an actual aggressive benefit for us.”
Melbourne are looking to bounce back from a shock loss to Essendon and have also added Luke Dunstan and possible second-gamers Bailey Laurie and Luke Dunstan to their squad.
Charlie Spargo (concussion) is unavailable, while Adam Tomlinson and Jake Melksham have been dropped.
Richmond are on a three-match losing streak and haven’t beaten the Demons since the two sides met behind closed doors in July 2020.
The Tigers added Jayden Short, Jack Ross and potential debutant Jacob Bauer to their squad, naming the trio on an prolonged bench.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
