Star trio ruled out for Demons

All three have been “close” to being prepared for the season opener in opposition to the Western Bulldogs after battling harm points, and Goodwin was fast to counsel no less than two might be prepared for spherical 2.

“Viney is close, he’s a big chance to play next week and Fritta (Fritsch) is very close as well, he could play next week as well,” Goodwin mentioned on Wednesday.

“Those three guys just fell a bit short, but we feel like with another couple of weeks’ work into their bodies they are going to be right for the season, the whole season.”

Despite their absence, the Demons will throw a brand new take a look at the Bulldogs, with star recruits Brodie Grundy and Lachie Hunter set to play their first video games.

Hunter, after crossing from the Bulldogs within the low season, made no secret of his enthusiasm after a pre-season that has many pundits believing Melbourne is ready to rediscover the shape that carried it to the 2021 premiership.

A post-season message to return again with “purpose” after shedding back-to-back finals final season has resonated with the gamers who’ve come again so pushed Hunter declared his new group could be “pretty hard to stop” this yr,

“It’s an unbelievable team with a lot of talent and some more talent added on top with Brodie as well this year,” Hunter advised SEN.

“It’s pretty impressive to watch the way a lot of them go about it at training, and from our first two looks at opposition, it definitely feels like we’re going to be a pretty hard team to stop this year.”

The inclusion of two-time Collingwood greatest and fairest Grundy as a companion for captain Max Gawn has been one other pre-season optimistic for Melbourne.

But Goodwin was eager to not heighten early expectations for a mixture that can “evolve”.

“It’s going to be different from week to week, they are different ruckmen, they have a different skill set,” he mentioned.

“It will evolve over time. I think what we need to be really careful of is to judge purely on scoreboard impact. They are going to have an impact in a whole range of different areas.

“We’re going to trial some things … so far we like what we see and they are building a great combination.”

Goodwin mentioned change was essential if the Demons wished to succeed in the heights of their dominant 2021 season.

“The evidence suggest that at the end of last year we needed to find ways to get better,” Goodwin mentioned.

“The message at the end of last year was to go away and enjoy yourself and come back ready to go with some purpose and we’ve got a really motivated group who want to have success.

“Our leaders have really led that … you can tell with the group the motivation and desire is really high.”