Bartram_Class
Brownlow Medallist
Bate to debut
1:04:33 PM Wed 26 April, 2006
Jennifer Witham
Sportal for afl.com.au
Melbourne coach Neale Daniher confirmed on Wednesday that 18-year-old Matthew Bate will make his debut for the club against the Kangaroos at the MCG on Saturday.
Bate arrived at Melbourne in November 2004 after winning the Morrish Medal as the best player in the TAC Cup that year. He was runner-up in the Eastern Ranges' best and fairest and can play as either a tall forward or defender.
"We'll probably introduce Matthew Bate for his first game at the MCG. He's a redhead…we've had a few redheads over the years," Daniher said at Trinity Grammar ahead of a closed training session.
Daniher was also forthcoming in plenty of other possible inclusions that could come into the side to account for the injured Neitz, Brock McLean and Paul Johnson.
"There's a couple of others…Ben Holland has been really good for us, Chris Johnson played well, Daniel Ward went back and played really well.
"Phil Read has been very good down there as well. Down at Sandringham they've have three wins on the trot and there is always someone I've missed.
"Young 'Dunny' (Lynden Dunn) is playing well at centre-half forward, Mark Jamar missed a week and Brent Moloney, he'll train out here this morning.
"All those blokes are in there to have a look at, but I can tell you that Matthew will play his first game."
Daniher added that the club will adopt a leadership rotation system to replace injured captain David Neitz, with the skipper expected to miss the next fortnight.
Neitz, who injured his hip flexor against the Swans on the weekend, has been ruled out for at least two weeks which leaves Daniher with the dilemma of selecting a new captain from the club's five-man leadership group.
But the Demons coach was playing down the imminent appointment and said the club would follow the lead of Essendon and rotate the responsibility.
"That's later in the week. We'll probably rotate," he said.
With forward Russell Robertson already experienced in the role having captained in the pre-season when Neitz was sidelined, Daniher said it would 'probably work like that' next week with Robertson taking the first rotation.
The Demons announced a new-look leadership group at the start of the year comprising of five players - which was trimmed from the nine-man group that presided over the team in 2005.
But Daniher said each member of the leadership group would get his chance to captain the side and that the final decision for the most immediate game against the Kangaroos on Saturday would be made later in the week.
"Russell Robertson captained the team in David's absence in the very first NAB Cup game. David's our captain and in our absence we've got Brad Green, Cameron Bruce, Robertson and Brad Miller who will all be given opportunities to lead the team," Daniher said.
"But that's something we'll decide later, who tosses the coin this week."
Can you imagine it?, Read Godfrey and Ward all in the same side
