- North Melbourne loses patience with small forward Lindsay Thomas
- Geelong looks to veterans with return of Jimmy Bartel, James Kelly
- Ben McEvoy back for the Hawks in place of Jonathon Ceglar
NORTH Melbourne has made a statement at the selection table, dropping small forward Lindsay Thomas for its potentially season-defining clash with Geelong on Saturday night.
But the Cats have turned to experience for the crunch match, recalling veterans Jimmy Bartel and Josh Kelly for the Etihad Stadium encounter.
Brisbane Lions skipper Tom Rockliff, Carlton star Bryce Gibbs and Swans superstar Lance Franklin are among the other big names to return for round 15.
North Melbourne coach Brad Scott is back in the coach's box and he's made four changes from the side that was humiliated against lowly Gold Coast last round.
The 11th-placed Roos are running out of time to make their charge up the ladder and have dropped Thomas, Majak Daw after one disappointing game and Trent Dumont, while important defender Lachie Hansen will miss with a hip complaint.
Tall forward Ben Brown headlines the inclusions, alongside Ryan Bastinac, forgotten first-round draft pick Taylor Garner and Aaron Mullett.
Geelong has included Bartel for his first game from a knee injury since round three, with Kelly (ankle) and ruckman Dawson Simpson also into the team.
Simpson will have his hands full against in-form big man Todd Goldstein in his first match since round five.
Shane Kersten, Jake Kolodjashnij and Michael Luxford have made way for the Cats, who occupy 10th spot on the ladder and have managed a 20-day break since their match against Adelaide was abandoned after Phil Walsh's death.
The Crows will play their first game since the tragic passing of their coach against West Coast at Domain Stadium on Saturday night.
Stand-in coach Scott Camporeale takes charge of the team, which will be without star midfielder Rory Sloane (cheekbone), defender Kyle Cheney (back) and has left out Jake Kelly.
Ricky Henderson, Riley Knight and Jake Lever come into the team to play in Perth.
The Eagles, whose players struggled playing the day after the passing of their former assistant coach, have omitted young gun Liam Duggan, replaced with Matt Rosa.
The return of Heath Hocking and Alex Browne from long-term injuries has provided a silver lining to a challenging week at Essendon, as the Bombers gear up to face Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday.
The Dons have lost skipper Jobe Watson (shoulder) for the season and Adam Cooney (hamstring) from the side which suffered a record-breaking 110-point loss to St Kilda.
Under pressure coach James Hird flagged significant changes on Thursday, but has responded by only demoting Courtenay Dempsey and Elliott Kavanagh.
Hocking will play his first game this year following groin surgery, while Browne is set to resume his stalled career for the first time since round 23, 2012.
Smooth-moving half-forward Jayden Laverde, pick 20 in last year's draft, will make his senior debut and Patrick Ambrose has also been included.
Melbourne young gun Angus Brayshaw (neck) has proven his fitness, while Heritier Lumumba (foot) resumes after missing the defeat to West Coast in Darwin.
Rookie revelation Aaron vandenBerg (hamstring) also returns alongside Jay Kennedy-Harris, while hard-at-it rookie James Harmes is set to make his debut.
The Demons have omitted four players – Rohan Bail, Jake Spencer, Jimmy Toumpas and Matt Jones.
Carlton has swung the changes for its meeting with arch-rivals Richmond at the MCG on Friday night, with Bryce Gibbs headlining some handy inclusions. Gibbs (suspension), Troy Menzel (knee), Andrew Carrazzo (toe) and first-gamer Tom Fields slot into the team.
Left-footed superboot Fields - best known for his huge torpedo kick-ins in the VFL - is the son of former Essendon and Swans champion Neville and has been elevated off the rookie list.
Rising star Patrick Cripps (knee) and Andrejs Everitt (ankle) have shrugged off doubts over their fitness, but Sam Docherty (hamstring) and Andrew Walker (knee) haven't come up.
Youngsters Blaine Boekhorst, Mark Whiley and Blaine Johnson have been dropped and Nick Graham (foot) is out injured.
The Blues are seeking redemption for their season-opening 27-point loss to the Tigers, who are in the hunt for a top-four spot at the start of what coach Damien Hardwick has labelled "big-boy month".
Richmond has recalled Shaun Hampson and tough small forward Steven Morris, replacing suspended ruckman Ivan Maric and key forward Ben Griffiths (shoulder).
Hampson has not played at any level for four weeks after a knee injury, and was pulled out of the VFL last weekend once Maric was reported.
The Western Bulldogs will continue their push for a surprise finals berth without vice-captain Jordan Roughead, who is out of Saturday's contest with Gold Coast due to back spasms.
Roughead is one of four forced changes to the team, along with Mitch Honeychurch (back), Toby McLean (AC joint) and Joel Hamling (back).
High-priced forward Tom Boyd, Michael Talia and Lachie Hunter have been included, while Josh Prudden - a 20-year-old inside midfielder from the Murray Bushrangers - will make his debut after an injury-interrupted start to his career.
Veteran defender Dale Morris will play in Cairns despite a fractured jaw.
The Suns have brought back some experience among five changes, with key defender Rory Thompson and Jarrod Harbrow returning.
Seb Tape, Matt Shaw and Sean Lemmens also come into the team, which has lost Luke Russell (finger), rising star nominee Adam Saad (groin) and Henry Schade (hip) to injury.
Keegan Brooksby and Andrew Boston have been dropped. Troubled midfielder Harley Bennell remains unavailable due to welfare issues.
Hawthorn has omitted ruckman Jon Ceglar, with in-form Ben McEvoy finally set to return against Fremantle in Launceston.
Angus Woodward, Angus Litherland and Billy Hartung are also into the extended squad.
The Dockers have added Jonathon Griffin, Tendai Mzungu and Cameron Sutcliffe to their 22 from last week.
The Sydney Swans' million-dollar forward line is back together for their trip to the Gabba, with Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett returning from suspension.
Daniel Robinson and Jack Hiscox are also into the squad, with Gary Rohan (hamstring) the only player out of the side at this stage.
After their impressive effort in the wet against Fremantle, the Brisbane Lions have named three key inclusions – skipper Tom Rockliff, Daniel Merrett and Pearce Hanley.
Nick Robertson and Zac O'Brien also come into the extended squad.
The injury curse has struck again, though, with Josh Green (foot) and Mitch Robinson (ankle) sidelined.
St Kilda could go in unchanged against Greater Western Sydney in the Saints' first game at Spotless Stadium.
Veteran backman Sam Fisher has been named despite pulling up sore from his first game since round eight.
Tom Hickey, Eli Templeton and Paddy McCartin are into the 25-player squad.
After three-straight losses, the Giants are in desperate need of a win to stay in touch with the top eight and have included emerging stars Stephen Coniglio and Josh Kelly among five additions to their 25-man squad.
Nick Haynes, Adam Tomlinson and Jed Lamb are also in the mix, while young forward James Stewart and Caleb Marchbank have been omitted.
All in the ins and out for round 15
Thursday, July 9
Port Adelaide v Collingwood, Adelaide Oval at 7.20pm ACST
Port Adelaide
In: J.Trengove, C.O'Shea, T.Clurey, J.Neade, K.Amon
Out: A.Carlile (back), N.Krakouer, A.Moore, T.Jonas, S.Colquhoun
Collingwood
No change
Friday, July 10
Richmond v Carlton, MCG at 7.50pm AEST
Richmond
In: S.Hampson, S.Morris
Out: I.Maric (suspended), B.Griffiths (shoulder)
Carlton
In: A.Carrazzo, B.Gibbs, T.Menzel, T.Fields
Out: M.Whiley, B.Boekhorst, N.Graham (foot), B.Johnson
New: Tom Fields (South Adelaide, SANFL)
Saturday, July 11
Essendon v Melbourne, MCG at 1.10pm AEST
Essendon
In: H.Hocking, A.Browne, P.Ambrose, J.Laverde
Out: A.Cooney (hamstring), J.Watson (shoulder), C.Dempsey, E.Kavanagh
New: Jayden Laverde (Western Jets U18)
Melbourne
In: H.Lumumba, J.Kennedy-Harris, J.Harmes, A.vandenBerg
Out: R.Bail, J.Spencer, J.Toumpas, M.Jones
New: James Harmes (Dandenong U18)
Western Bulldogs v Gold Coast, Cazaly's Stadium, Cairns at 4.35pm AEST
Western Bulldogs
In: T.Boyd, M.Talia, L.Hunter, J.Prudden
Out: M.Honeychurch (back), T.McLean (AC joint), J.Roughead (back), J.Hamling (back)
New: Josh Prudden (Murray U18)
Gold Coast
In: S.Tape, M.Shaw, S.Lemmens, J.Harbrow, R.Thompson
Out: L.Russell (finger), A.Saad (groin), H.Schade (hip), K.Brooksby, A.Boston
North Melbourne v Geelong, Etihad Stadium at 7.20pm AEST
North Melbourne
In: R.Bastinac, A.Mullett, B.Brown, T.Garner
Out: L.Hansen (hip), L.Thomas, M.Daw, T.Dumont
Geelong
In: J.Bartel, J.Kelly, D.Simpson
Out: S.Kersten, J.Kolodjashnij, M.Luxford
West Coast v Adelaide, Patersons Stadium at 5.40pm AWST
West Coast
In: M.Rosa
Out: L.Duggan
Adelaide
In: R.Henderson, R.Knight, J.Lever
Out: K.Cheney (back), R.Sloane (cheek), J.Kelly
New. Riley Knight (Woodville-West Torrens)
Sunday, July 12
Greater Western Sydney v St Kilda, Spotless Stadium at 1.10pm AEST
Greater Western Sydney
In: S.Coniglio, N.Haynes, A.Tomlinson, J.Kelly, J.Lamb
Out: J.Stewart, C.Marchbank
St Kilda
In: T.Hickey, E.Templeton, P.McCartin
Out: -
Hawthorn v Fremantle, Aurora Stadium at 3.20pm AEST
Hawthorn
In: B.McEvoy, A.Woodward, A.Litherland, B.Hartung
Out: J.Ceglar
Fremantle
In: J.Griffin, T.Mzungu, C.Sutcliffe
Brisbane Lions v Sydney Swans, Gabba at 4.40pm AEST
Brisbane Lions
In: D.Merrett, T.Rockliff, P.Hanley, N.Robertson, Z.O'Brien
Out: J.Green (foot), M.Robinson (foot)
Sydney Swans
In: L.Franklin, K.Tippett, D.Robinson, J.Hiscox
Out: G.Rohan (hamstring)
New: Jack Hiscox (Sydney University)
