It’s 11 days until the SUNS return to the field against West Coast at Metricon Stadium, and Senior Coach Stuart Dew says there’s still time for players to push their name into the selection frame.
The club plans to run match simulations in the lead up to Round 2 which Dew said would help some players press their case for selection.
“We’re getting close,” Dew said of his selection decisions on Tuesday morning.
“There’s a few up in the air which is good.
“It’s good for us to have those decisions and it’s good for the players to know there’s spots up for grabs and it just keeps that little bit of edge in training.”
One factor Dew flagged would come to the forefront would be making calls on those players who have missed a significant amount of time.
“I think we’ve got a few decisions to make based on a small ramp into the games,” he said.
“Some guys who are coming back off long-term injuries or previous niggles, in an ideal world we have a bit more of a look at them.
“It will be whether we pull the trigger on that one for Round 2 or give them a little bit more matchplay.”
One putting his hand up to make his return to the senior team is third-year player Wil Powell.
The 20-year-old has recovered fully from a pre-season knee injury and Dew said he was in the conversation for Round 2.
“He’s definitely going to be in the mix,” he said.
“He’s done a great job particularly the last three weeks.
“He’s one that’s benefitted from this break that was due to miss a fair bit of footy this year.
“As it stands he’s going to play a lot of football which is great for his development.
“He’s a courageous player and is very skilful and the boys like playing with him.”
Dew said the club would welcome the opportunity to restart the season at home for three matches, but reinforced the team would still have to work just as hard for a win.
“We love playing at Metricon Stadium so it’s a good opportunity for us,” he said.
“We get to train here and we’re lucky to have access to that as well.
“But it doesn’t make it any easier - any team coming up here in any position think they can win and likewise when we end up travelling we like to think we can win there as well.
“It’s nice to be able to play on our home deck but it doesn’t kick the goals for you.”
