Melbourne has recalled Ben Brown for Thursday night’s bumper clash with Port Adelaide, following comments from Leigh Matthews questioning Luke Jackson’s role in the side.
Brown, a high-profile recruit, has yet to make his mark in Simon Goodwin’s side but has put together a solid block of VFL form, including a recent five-goal haul over Essendon.
Goodwin said in his weekly media conference on Wednesday that Brown was “ready to go".
“What he's been able to do in the last six or seven weeks is get some continuity in his body and some continuity in his training and playing,” Goodwin said.
“Speaking to Ben (Brown), he's really confident in his body and he's prepared to play at AFL level.
“When a player is coming to you and saying that, that gives you a lot of belief as a coach that he's in a great frame of mind and wants to impact the team. In his own words, he's ready to go.”
Brown’s recall comes after AFL great Leigh Matthews questioned on Tuesday whether Melbourne would benefit dropping their second-ruck Luke Jackson for the more natural forward in Brown.
“I don’t see (Melbourne) putting out another small so you’ve got Brown and Jackson and Weideman (McDonald) and Fritsch and drop one of the little blokes,” Matthews said on Sportsday.
“So I kind of think they have to make a choice on how much height do we carry; and is Luke Jackson important enough to keep Ben Brown out?”
Melbourne have averaged 62 points over the last three weeks, and will be hoping Brown can provide that extra attacking potency to help balance their strong backline.