Key defenders given green light for the big one
KEY defenders Steven May and Alex Keath completed Melbourne’s and the Western Bulldogs’ final open training sessions in Perth on Friday.
The respective important defenders for both grand final sides were named on Thursday night.
May and Keath trained lightly at Perth Stadium in front of thousands of fans as grand final fever took hold in the WA capital.
May’s fellow backman Christian Salem said he was thrilled he was good to play on Saturday.
“He’s sweet, he did a full session this week, I guess that week off helped him,” he said. “You’ve seen all year how big he is for us.”
The Demons only had their 22 and four emergencies out on the track on Friday.
Players were also using head of development Mark Williams’s Sherrin Precision as
they did kicking on the Perth Stadium turf.
Williams and the rest of the Demons coaching staff then donned bibs as they did shadow play.
Showing he still has the competitive juices at 63, Williams dragged intercept defender Jake Lever down after he had taken a mark.
While the Demons only had those players who will, and could be involved, on Saturday evening, the Bulldogs’ entire squad trained.
Ryan Gardner and Laitham Vandermeer were dropped from the side that walloped Port Adelaide by 71 points in a preliminary final, but Bulldogs head of footy Chris Grant said both players were team first.
“Clearly they are disappointed but at the same time they will support their teammates,” he said.
Keath, Tom Liberatore, Jason Johannisen and Bailey Williams focused mainly on skills.