Rivers ready for first match

[Dez!]

MELBOURNE defender Jared Rivers will play his first official match this season, after sustaining an ankle injury during the club's intra-club hit-out three weeks ago at Casey Fields.

Rivers, who played just six matches and made one appearance after round seven last year due to injury, has been named in Melbourne's line-up, which takes on the Brisbane Lions at Cazaly Stadium in Cairns on Friday night.

Melbourne football operations manager Craig Notman said the club was delighted to see the important defender return.

"Rivers is playing. He's basically in for his first game. He played in the intra-club match earlier in the year, when he hurt his ankle, but he's in the side for his first real proper hit-out," Notman told melbournefc.com.au.

"He played a few minutes of that intra-club game a couple of weeks ago, when he hurt his ankle, but it was just a minor set-back, in terms of what he's had to put up with over the last couple of years.

"It's good to see he's back in for a proper hit-out."

Notman said Melbourne's side on paper was relatively inexperienced.

"It's a pretty young side. We're missing the likes of James McDonald and Brad Green, and our emergencies are blokes who could've played this week, but we've chosen to give them a rest – Col Garland, Aaron Davey and James Strauss," he said.

"Right across the board, some of the experienced blokes are having that week off and then they will have a really good hit-out in the lead-up to the season.

"From all reports, Brisbane is loading up, so it could be a good test for us”

Notman said defender Daniel Bell had been named in the side, after receiving a corked thigh last weekend against the Sydney Swans.

"He got a cork last week. He's in the group traveling to Cairns, so he's right to go," he said.

"'Belly' is the only one out of last week who suffered anything at all, so he's right to go, after suffering a slight cork. So he'll be playing in Cairns."

Midfielder Simon Buckley and tall forward Trent Zomer will play their first matches for the season. Matthew Bate and Clint Bartram are back in the side after a week's rest.

The squad: Bartram, Jones, Bartram, McLean, Bate, Frawley, Morton, Johnson, Sylvia, Dunn, Petterd, Bell, Moloney, Cheney, Meesen, Rivers, Newton, Bruce, Martin, Zomer, Warnock, Jetta, Bail, Spencer, Bennell and Valenti.

If he gets passed the first minute with no injury then it should be classed as a success.

Also looking forward to seeing what ZOMG! can do up forward.

 

[Deefolt]

If he gets passed the first minute with no injury then it should be classed as a success.

Also looking forward to seeing what ZOMG! can do up forward.

WOOOO but look at the top how good does that demon thing look ?

 

[dee-boxed]

Good news about Rivers.

Also good to see there giving another opportunity for the youngsters

I see our last praccy against the doggies the following week as a preview prior to round one, so essentially this week is the last opportunity to experiment with the younger lads.

 

[stabler]

Don't mean to sound negative... but we are going to get smashed across the park with that line up.

 

[Dez!]

Don't mean to sound negative... but we are going to get smashed across the park with that line up.

1. Who cares, these games aren't about winning they're about getting games into the legs of the players before the season begins.

2. Haven't seen the Brisbane line up so that's a bit premature.

 

[Supermercado]

We used to get whacked in the pre-season even when we were good.

 

[Ausyid]

It says Buckley will play, but then he isn't listed at the bottom.