Defenders add to premier’s weapons

THE impending return of two premiership defenders won’t sway Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin from moving Angus Brayshaw after his emergence as an a “elite” defender.

While James Harmes is set to miss up to three weeks with a hamstring injury, Michael Hibberd is on the verge of a return after battling calf issues and Christian Salem is inching closer to a comeback from knee surgery.

But the move of Brayshaw, whose selfless shift from the midfield to the wing was lauded as a key pillar of Melbourne’s 2021 premiership success, has blown Goodwin away and given the Demons a new weapon in their quest for back-to-back flags.

While Goodwin has steadfastly refused to rest players despite his team’s 9-0 start to 2022, even as it prepares to face battlers North Melbourne, he conceded the absence of players allowed him to develop new elements that would only make the Demons better.

“Any time you’ve got guys out it gives you opportunities to look at players in different roles and get some more information about your team,” Goodwin said on Wednesday.

“The information we‘ve got about Angus Brayshaw (pictured) in this period is that he’s an elite half-back flanker and the way that he can impact the game is significant.

“With these guys coming back in it will tighten up the competition for spots.

“But one thing we know is that Angus is playing some great footy and we’re probably going to be hesitant to move him at this point.”

Salem is at least one week away from returning at any level after knee surgery in March, and Hibberd, who is yet to play a game this season, could return through the VFL as soon as next weekend after a calf injury.

“It wasn’t too (bad) and then he restrained it for a second time, so we took a longer period to rehabilitate one of his calves,” Goodwin said.