Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin is set to reshape his forward line for Wednesday’s clash with Richmond, with Ben Brown set to miss out and Kysaiah Pickett returning from suspension.
Brown has kicked just six goals from five games this year, and last start against Brisbane failed to record a single kick until the last quarter.
The 31-year-old has been part of a misfiring forward line that also includes Harrison Petty (one goal) and Jacob van Rooyen (eight goals).
But Goodwin appears set to reshape their attack with Pickett set to return from suspension.
Meanwhile, Clayton Oliver is primed to bounce back to top form against Richmond after recovering from a finger injury.
Oliver had been wearing a protective glove earlier in the season but struggled in the Demons’ heavy loss to Brisbane on April 11.
The 26-year-old is back training normally ahead of the annual ‘Anzac Day Eve’ blockbuster against the Tigers at the MCG.
“There’s no question that carrying that finger for three weeks, the weight of that in the last game, especially, was getting really hard for him,” Goodwin said.
“So to get that fixed, to get him healthy and to get him functioning really well is important.
“And you can see once again, similar to the start of the season, he’s got that smile on his face. He’s got that eagerness and that energy to come out and perform.
“You can see the energy and life that it’s brought back into him, and the way he trained was unbelievable the other day.”
When asked if in hindsight Oliver should have had surgery earlier, Goodwin said the intention had always been for the operation to take place during the bye period.
“It was pretty compact time for our fixturing, so it was always planned to do that,” he said.
“Clayton was aware and embraced … the situation and he wanted to go down that path.
“The main thing is it’s been fixed and he’s ready to go.”
Opponents Richmond will regain Jacob Hopper and Dylan Grimes.
Coach Adem Yze is well aware his charges will be up against it around the contest, especially after being smashed by West Coast’s midfield before their own bye.
“To have Hopper come back with his leadership, that just flows through our footy club,” he said.
“He had a terrific week on the track.
“We’ve worked on a lot of stoppage, we weren’t happy with the way that we performed around stoppage and clearance (against West Coast) – we got smashed in that area.
“We’ve done a lot of work with our midfielders and so hopefully that comes out. But it is going to be a massive part of the game.”
There is plenty of shared history between Yze and Goodwin. The Tigers mentor was Goodwin’s senior assistant coach, including taking charge of the Demons’ midfield for their breakthrough 2021 premiership, before stepping into the Richmond job.
“He would know us very well, and we know him very well,” Goodwin said.
“I don’t think there’s an advantage either way, other than to say we have enormous respect for Adem.”
Pre-game there hasn’t been any contact between the two, but Goodwin is anticipating meeting up after the match.
“I’m sure post-game we’ll catch up for a coffee or a quiet beer and debrief the game,” he said.
– With AAP
