Patient Demons aim to take their chances

MELBOURNE is in territory that has proven uncharted in recent years, ahead of a month that coach Simon Goodwin says will reveal plenty about his team.

The Demons sit seventh on the ladder and travel to Canberra to take on third-placed Greater Western Sydney tomorrow.

A win could put the Demons just one game outside the top four.

Melbourne has not played finals since 2006.

But it now has an opportunity at hand, Goodwin believes.

“This club has worked itself into a position where we’ve got opportunity,” he said. “This club has never been in this position [recently].

“We’ve got growth opportunities staring at us right now to perform week after week for the next four weeks. We can’t look too far ahead. It’s at the end of Round 23 that matters.

“We have as a club for the first time put ourselves in a position to get some growth and we’ll see a lot about our footy club and a lot about our players in the next four weeks.”

Co-captain Nathan Jones, who hasn’t played since Round 13 because of a quad injury, will return for tomorrow’s clash, along with key midfielder Bernie Vince who has served his two-match suspension for elbowing Crow Eddie Betts, in a midfield Goodwin is looking forward to reuniting. Corey Maynard will also make his debut. “We’ve lacked a bit of continuity in that area of the ground for a number of weeks now, and we’ve got all our experience back,” Goodwin said.

“We need to start connecting with Max [Gawn] in the ruck and being proactive around the ball.”