SELECTION DILEMMAS

[Demonland 73,140]

by J. V. McKay

Demon coach Neale Daniher has welcomed the presence of pressure on his players during the finals series and says they need it if they want to keep their premiership hopes alive. But Daniher and his selectors are also under a fair bit of pressure as the team prepares to fly off to Perth today for Friday night's semi-final against Fremantle. They have to choose which players will make the trip to WA and it has been reported that the club has taken a squad of 24 across the Nullarbor including Nathan Brown, Chris Johnson, Nick Smith and Matthew Warnock.

The main focus of course is on who will replace injured star defender Matthew Whelan and what will the club do about its ruck set up in the absence of Mark Jamar who broke his foot in last week's Elimination Final against St. Kilda.

The club is somewhat limited in who it can use to replace the injured duo. For starters, it has a growing list of players who are out for the season. Clint Bartram (ankle), Andre Gianfagna (shoulder), Jamar, Paul Johnson (shoulder), Brent Moloney (groin) and Heath Neville (groin) have all been ruled out until next year and Whelan (AC joint) is unlikely to play again this season. Ryan Ferguson (knee) and Paul Wheatley (back) are due to be tested but have been out for some time so it's unlikely that they would be risked in an important finals match.

Of the additional players flown to Perth, two will cool their heels and watch the game from the stands at Subiaco. If Brown doesn't get a game, it would be a big blow for him because, although he's fit, he hasn't played for a few weeks. He was an emergency when Melbourne played the Crows and flew over to Adelaide, then missed last week because the Zebras had a week off.

Smith's last AFL game was against the Sydney Swans in round 22 of 2003 at the MCG, a time when two of his teammates for this week Brock McLean and Colin Sylvia were still going around in the TAC Cup and hopeful of being picked up early in the National Draft og that Year. Smith himself had been a first round pick twelve months earlier but his career was restricted in 2004-5 by a number of injuries.

Sandringham will probably have to rely on the recovery of Ferguson and Wheatley to enable it to fill the maximum allowable quota of players for its preliminary final on Saturday. Fans will be happy that impressive youngster Michael Newton now has an excellent chance of promotion and an opportunity to showcase his talents in a big game.

Here's Melbourne's full list and their prospects for the weekend (Player, Games 2006 & Total, Goals 2006 and Total):-

BARTRAM, Clint 22, 22, 6, 6 Out after a season-ending ankle injury in Round 22 v Crows.

BATE, Matthew 13, 13, 8, 8 Played against Saints and available

BELL, Daniel 11, 27, 0, 0 Played against Saints and available

BIZZELL, Clint 0, 153, 0, 79 Making only steady progress at Sandringham on return from injury.

BODE, Jace ® 0, 0, 0 , 0 On the fringe of Sandringham Senior selection.

BROWN, Nathan 8, 126, 3, 33 Strong chance to take Matthew Whelan's place in the team for Friday night. One of four players from outside last week's team on the flight to Perth.

BRUCE, Cameron 23, 145, 21, 173 Played against Saints and available

BUCKLEY, Simon 0, 0, 0, 0 Spent the latter part of the season in the Sandy reserves and impressed when given a senior opportunity.

CARROLL, Nathan 23, 40, 1, 1 Played against Saints and available

DAVEY, Aaron 21, 63, 35, 93 Played against Saints and available

DUNN, Lynden 11, 11, 13, 13 Recent form at Sandringham has been hot and cold.

FERGUSON, Ryan 3, 39, 0, 4 Set to return to Sandringham after injuring his knee in Round 19 v Sydney Swans.

GIANFAGNA, Andre ® 0, 0, 0, 0 Out for the season with a shoulder injury.

GODFREY, Simon 16, 88, 4, 16 Outside chance to play against Fremantle. More likely to play for Sandy.

GREEN, Brad 22, 47, 11, 194 Played against Saints and available

HOLLAND, Ben 15, 178, 1, 164 Played against Saints and available

HUGHES, Daniel ® 0, 0, 0, 0 Improving rookie will play with the Zebras on Saturday.

JAMAR, Mark 22, 42, 10, 13 Fractured foot in Elimination Final. Out for the Season.

JOHNSON, Chris 9, 13, 0, 0 Going to Perth and is in the mix for inclusion in the team for Friday night's game.

JOHNSON, Paul 2, 11, 2, 2 Injured shoulder in Round 4 v Sydney Swans and suffered further injuries on return in VFL and is out for the season after a shoulder reconstruction.

JOHNSTONE, Travis 21, 144, 10, 104 Played against Saints and available

JONES, Nathan 7, 7, 2, 2 Played against Saints and available

MCDONALD, James 23, 176, 6, 45 Played against Saints and available

MCLEAN, Brock 17, 46, 13, 24 Played against Saints and available

MILLER, Brad 14, 74, 3, 23 Played against Saints and available

MOLONEY, Brent 7, 51, 1, 9 Out for the season with a groin injury.

MOTLOP, Shannon 3, 64, 0, 36 A poor game in round 22 seems to have put paid to his chances.

NEAVES, Shane ® 0, 0, 0, 0 Rookie who has impressed in the ruck with Sandringham.

NEITZ, David 20, 285, 65, 599 Played against Saints and available

NEVILLE, Heath 0, 0, 0, 0 Out for the season with an injured groin.

NEWTON, Michael 0, 0, 0, 0 Kicked 6 goals at FF in the Zebra reserves elimination final defeat and a good chance for promotion.

NICHOLSON, Alistair 0, 110, 0, 3 Injured most of the year and making a comeback at Sandringham.

PICKETT, Byron 19, 194, 9, 170 Played against Saints and available

READ, Phillip 5, 108, 1, 32 Slashing recent form in the VFL suggests he may be on the brink of promotion.

RIVERS, Jared 21, 60 , 4, 4 Played against Saints and available

ROBERTSON, Russell 22, 189, 41, 340 Played against Saints and available

SMITH, Nicholas 0, 3, 0, 0 On the way to Perth as a possible inclusion against Fremantle to fill the void left by Mark Jamar.

SYLVIA, Colin 16, 35, 10, 19 Played against Saints and available

WARD, Daniel 16, 117, 3, 28 Played against Saints and available

WARNOCK, Matthew ® 2, 2, 0, 0 Injured ankle in Sandringham Seniors Qualifying Final a fortnight ago but is fit to play this week and has gone with the team to Perth.

WHEATLEY, Paul 7, 99, 1, 27 A possible return to Sandringham this week after missing a month with an injured back.

WHELAN, Matthew 19, 123, 3, 13 Injured AC joint in Elimination Final. An outside chance of being available for the Preliminary Final.

WHITE, Jeff 23, 230, 11, 99 Played against Saints and available

YZE, Adem 23, 256, 29, 224 Played against Saints and available

Thank you very much.