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Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has refused to confirm whether skipper Max Gawn has a broken toe, but has declared he will play in Friday night’s semi-final against Carlton.
As the pressure intensifies on the Demons, it’s emerged Gawn is carrying an injury, although it’s unclear if he was hurt during the qualifying final defeat to Collingwood last Thursday. On a tough night for the Demons, he became the first ruckman to have 10 clearances and 10 inside 50s in a game. He also had 27 disposals.
Max Gawn will carry an injury into Friday night’s semi-final against Carlton, but his coach wouldn’t confirm if that injury was a broken toe.Credit: Getty
The six-time All-Australian remains arguably the Demons’ most important player, and will be needed at his best in front of a sold-out MCG on Friday if the Demons are to avoid a straight-sets finals exit for the second time in as many seasons.
Goodwin would not discuss specifics on Tuesday, only saying Gawn and Clayton Oliver, nursing knee soreness, would train fully.
“I think every player is carrying certain things at certain times of the year, but this isn’t something that is going to slow either of these two down. They had a light day the other day, but they will train fully today in preparation for the game,” Goodwin said.
The Demons have much to consider, for young key forward Jacob van Rooyen will also miss the match, having been suspended for one match.
They could turn to ruckman-forward Brodie Grundy, forward Josh Schache or Ben Brown, the latter set to fully complete training this week.
“Nothing is off the table. It’s still very early in the week. I am sure there will be some questions about the forward line and Jacob van Rooyen not playing.
“What we have done through the whole year is find a way to score through our forward line,” Goodwin said.
“We have had some real interruptions in the forward half of the ground, and that is no different currently. We will come up with a plan, we will come up with a method, we will come up with the personnel to maximise what we have got.”
The Demons are already missing Jake Melksham (knee), Harrison Petty (foot) and James Harmes (hamstring).
The Demons do need to improve the manner in which they look to score. They managed just 7.11 from 62 forward-50 entries against the Magpies. In the final term, they had 19 entries, but reaped only 3.2 from seven shots.
The Blues and Demons have met twice this season, the Demons prevailing by 17 points in round 12, and the Blues hanging on for a four-point win in round 22 amid a controversial score review.
More to come
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