Max Gawn says he deserves chance as Melbourne’s No.1 ruck against Collingwood.

MELBOURNE says big man Max Gawn deserves his opportunity to take on Collingwood’s ruck duo of Brodie Grundy and Jarrod Witts.

AFL- Melbourne v GWS at MCG, Melbourne. Max Gawn gets tackled. 17th August 2014. Picture: Colleen Petch.

MELBOURNE says big man Max Gawn deserves his opportunity to take on Collingwood’s ruck duo of Brodie Grundy and Jarrod Witts as the Demons fight to end a long drought against the Magpies.

Gawn has been named as the Demons’ No. 1 ruckman for their MCG clash against the Magpies, which will be his first senior appearance of 2015 after impressing in the VFL.

The 208cm Gawn comes into the side at the expense of Jake Spencer, who has been named as an emergency.

Demons football operations manager Josh Mahoney said the ruck competition at the Demons was healthy — veteran Mark Jamar has also been playing in the VFL — but it was Gawn’s chance today to show what he could do.

“We’ve got a lot of competition for ruck spots at the moment,’’ Mahoney said.

“Mark Jamar played the first five games and Jake Spencer has played the last month, but Max’s form over the last month in the VFL has been very strong and he deserves his opportunity.

“That combination has worked very well in Grundy and Witts, so Max has got a very important job and Cam Pedersen will be our second ruck, as well.

“It’s healthy this competition. Mark and Jake played very well for Casey Scorpions on Saturday, so whoever is playing the best and is in form will get the opportunity to play for Melbourne.’’

Gawn was one of three inclusions for the Demons, who suffered a 61-point loss to Port Adelaide in Alice Springs last round, along with Aidan Riley and Ben Newton.

Former co-captain Jack Grimes was also left out of the side, but Mahoney said he was working with the coaches on the areas he needed to improve.

“Jack’s form has been solid without being spectacular and he has got a few things that he is working on with the coaches at the moment,’’ Mahoney said.

“I’m sure if he gets those things tidied up he will be back in the side again.’’

Melbourne has not had a win against the Magpies since 2007 and the Demons acknowledged the importance of performing on the big Queen’s Birthday stage.

“Those sort of records we don’t like and it’s been too long since we’ve beaten Collingwood,’’ Mahoney said.

“It’s an opportunity for our young players to play in front of a big crowd ... the last time we played on the big stage was a Friday night against Richmond and we put in a good performance then so we’re really looking forward to seeing what we can do.’’

After his hamstring surgery last week, Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley was at Magpies’ training on crutches.

He spoke to the group briefly before the session, but largely watched on from the sidelines as his assistants took charge of the short 45-minute run.

But the Magpies expect Buckley to be coaching from the coach’s box against the Demons.

Originally published as Max Gawn says he deserves chance as Melbourne’s No.1 ruck against Collingwood.