There were moments in Friday night’s scrappy yet telling contest where Lewis Melican showed traits of a player now ready for a senior berth.
And defensive coach Henry Playfair, the man in the hot seat for the win against GWS, agreed.
Melican, without an AFL game to his name, was a crucial cog in Sydney’s defence which limited GWS’ tall forward line in the cross-town derby at Blacktown International Sportspark.
There were moments in Friday night’s scrappy yet telling contest where Lewis Melican showed traits of a player now ready for a senior berth.
And defensive coach Henry Playfair, the man in the hot seat for the win against GWS, agreed.
Melican, without an AFL game to his name, was a crucial cog in Sydney’s defence which limited GWS’ tall forward line in the cross-town derby at Blacktown International Sportspark.
The Giants kicked four goals for the match, one of which came from their three key forwards in Jeremy Cameron, Jonathon Patton and Rory Lobb.
While it wasn’t a particularly forgiving night for big men– the wet conditions wreaking havoc on effective disposals and marking – Melican held his own to produce a solid outing of 11 disposals, three marks, four rebound-50s and several spoils against his much taller opposite numbers.
In one particular contest, Melican (193cm) matched Lobb (207cm) body for body to effectively spoil a long ball in and quell a thrust forward by the Giants.
On the back of this promising performance and an uninterrupted pre-season, his first since arriving in Sydney, the 20-year-old rookie has put his name in lights ahead of the Swans’ opening round clash with Port Adelaide.
“He’s a possibility…there’s a few balls in the air but he certainly hasn’t hurt his chances the way he’s been playing,” Playfair said.
“For him, being here a couple of years and taking a little while to find his feet and fully feel settled, it has been great to watch him this pre-season to establish himself, train hard and reap the rewards.”
If the Match Committee decides to go with three talls against Port Adelaide and Aliir Aliir, yet to feature in this year’s JLT Community Series, isn’t match-fit before Round 1 then Playfair can’t see any reason why Melican couldn’t swoop in for a debut.
“In addition to his composure and capabilities one-on-one, he’s got really good strength for a key defender, especially lower body strength, which is what you need, he’s really hard to shift in a marking contest,” Playfair added.
“He’s got great speed on the lead, he’s able to keep up with a forward on the move, and he’s also got an understanding of when to play on his man one-on-one and when to lay off and support the other defenders.
“So, he’s got a whole range of attributes that are coming to the fore now and what we look for in a senior defender.”
Playfair remains hopeful of seeing Aliir play in either Sunday’s final JLT Community Series game against St Kilda in Albury, or the NEAFL Swans’ practice match on Friday against GWS at Tom Wills Oval.
Head of Football Tom Harley said in last week’s HCF Injury Update Aliir had fully recovered from a toe injury and has been training for a solid month with the aim of taking on the Saints at Lavington Sports Ground.
Sydney’s 27-man squad will be announced on Thursday.
