JAKE Lever will have to prove his fitness on Friday if he is to join recruit Steven May as key inclusions for Melbourne in its Queen's Birthday clash with Collingwood.
Coach Simon Goodwin confirmed May will play his first game for the Demons since round two after performing well at VFL level last week.
And Lever, who hasn't played at senior level since round 11 last season after a second knee reconstruction, is likely to bolster Melbourne's defence as well if he overcomes an ankle niggle.
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"We're feeling really confident in the way [Lever's] going. We're looking forward to him putting himself in a position, Friday at training, to be able play," Goodwin said on Thursday.
"We're really confident he'll play. He trained well on Monday and he's got to train on Friday, so it will be great to have both Steven and Jake available and ready to go."
Christian Salem (illness) and Marty Hore (calf) are also set to return against the Magpies after missing last week's last-gasp loss to Adelaide in Darwin.
May has been sidelined with a groin injury, and his time on the sidelines has caught attention, including being snapped drinking alcohol while in the rehabilitation group.
Goodwin said the former Suns co-captain didn't owe the Demons anything despite the start of his career being spent off the field.
"He'll play. He's ready to go. He's put in a lot of work, 10 weeks of rehab and played really well last week. We're really confident he's ready to go," Goodwin said.
"There's a lot of things that were said at that time [regarding the drinking incident] that were incorrect. Steven doesn't owe us anything.
"Steven's been working incredibly hard for a long period of time, he didn't do anything that was drastically wrong, and that was blown way out of proportion. Steven May is going to be a very, very fine footballer for this club."
The Dees enter the annual clash with Collingwood third-last on the ladder and with just three wins for the season. However, Goodwin said the club was not yet ready to write off this season and prepare for 2020.
"I've heard some commentary on that and there's still so much to play out in this season. If people can tell me right now what's going to happen in the next 12-13 weeks, I'd be all ears, because nobody can tell me what's going to happen, anything's possible still in this season," he said.
"We're not going to waste a day, and time, thinking about next year. It's always on the agenda, short-term and long-term, but right now nobody can tell me what's going to happen this season yet.
"We're still capable of playing some really, really good footy. We're going to attack every week to play our best footy as much as we can and see where that takes us."
