Melbourne have to go back to the drawing board ahead of Friday night’s Semi Final against Carlton.
The Demons lost their Qualifying Final against Collingwood by seven points, with one area of the ground in particular letting them down.
While the defence held the Magpies to 60 and the midfield held sway, the forwards couldn’t capitalise on a 69-37 inside 50 win as they mustered just seven goals.
With Jacob Van Rooyen receiving a one-match ban and both Jake Melksham and Harrison Petty out injured, the Dees may have to get creative to fix the one standout problem that’s plagued the side for 18 months.
While the Demons will no doubt look at addressing the concern in the off-season, Tom Morris went through various options they have on their list now ahead of their do-or-die Carlton clash.
He listed six options coach Simon Goodwin could turn to on SEN’s Crunch Time.
Option one – play Brodie Grundy as a pure forward
“Option one, Brodie Grundy in to play pure forward,” Morris said.
Option two – have Grundy and Max Gawn share ruck/forward duties
“Option two, Brodie Grundy in to share the ruck/forward duties with Max Gawn as we saw for about 16 weeks.”
Option three – Grundy to play ruck with Gawn going forward
“Option three, Brodie Grundy in to play ruck with Gawn going forward.”
Option four – play Christian Petracca as a permanent forward
“Option four, (Christian) Petracca more forward with James Jordon replacing Angus Brayshaw in the midfield.”
Option five – go small
“Option five, go small.
“Everything's the same except Charlie Spargo in.”
Option six – the radical option
“Option six is what our producer Ben Lyon likes to call the radical option. The nuclear option.
“That’s Steven May swung forward. Remembering he was a forward as a junior.
“Riddle me this, how does Melbourne solve their forward line issues?”
Bayley Fritsch leads Melbourne’s goalkicking in 2023 with 36 majors followed by Kysaiah Pickett (35), Jacob Van Rooyen (28), Christian Petracca (27) and Kade Chandler (24).
The Demons and Blues face off in a huge Semi Final at 7:50 pm (AEST) at the MCG on Friday.