AFL 2021: Tom McDonald could miss Queen’s Birthday clash for birth of his child

Melbourne could be without one of its most in-form players for the bumper Queen’s Birthday clash in Sydney.

AFL Round 17. 12/09/2020. GWS Giants vs Melbourne at the Gabba, Brisbane. Simon Goodwin, senior coach of the Demons and CEO Gary Pert . Pic: Michael Klein

In-form Melbourne forward Tom McDonald could dash home from Sydney and miss the Demons’ Queen’s Birthday clash with Collingwood if his pregnant wife goes into labour.

The 28-year-old star will make the trip north with his teammates, but is on high alert if anything changes between now and Monday’s game, which will be Magpies mentor Nathan Buckley’s last in charge.

Demon coach Simon Goodwin remains confident that McDonald will play despite the impending birth, while winger Ed Langdon (concussion) will return.

“We’ve had some pretty close conversations with Tom and Ruby around what the next few days look like, and obviously family comes first,” Goodwin said.

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Tom McDonald could return home from Sydney for the birth of his child. Picture: Michael Klein

“If the situation arises where the baby’s on the way, we’ll get Tom back as quickly as we can.”

Swingman Mitch Brown, rather than off-season recruit Ben Brown, is on standby if McDonald doesn’t make the start line.

Nathan Jones is also still in the selection frame, but was again not named and hasn’t played since his 301st match in Round 7.

Goodwin said he was pleased with ex-Kangaroo Brown’s progress and that they were taking a “long-term” view with him.

“We’re really happy with how he’s tracking and he’s actually trained to a really high level,” he said.

“He’s done a lot of work on his body – he’s missed a lot of footy – and I think what we forget with Ben is a lot of people look at Ben short term, but we look at him long term and the player we want him to be.

“We’ve got no doubt he’s going to have a significant impact for us at some stage.”

Melbourne will treat Buckley’s emotion-charged last match as Collingwood coach as another opportunity to test itself in a high-stakes contest.

Tom McDonald took an icy plunge in support of this year’s Fight MND Big Freeze fundraiser this week. Picture: Alex Coppel.

The annual showdown will be at the SCG rather than the MCG, but the Big Freeze Fight MND cause is still in place and adds to what Goodwin described as a “special occasion”.

Goodwin, who has steered his side to the AFL’s best record through 12 rounds, is keen to see how his men fare after beating flag rivals Western Bulldogs and Brisbane in the past fortnight.

“We know the game’s going to (have) emotion built into it, on the back of Nathan’s departure and last game, but that’s fine with us – we understand that’s one of the challenges,” Goodwin said.

“We want to be able to thrive in games where there is pressure, where there is emotion, where there is a sense of occasion and I think this game gives us that opportunity.”

Goodwin deflected praise for the Demons’ rebound this year after two seasons outside the finals.

After starting the season under pressure to keep his job, the former Adelaide champion has led Melbourne to premiership favouritism.

“I’ve had unwavering belief in our playing group the whole way through and unwavering belief in our football club and the foundations that were laid,” he said.

“Clearly, the (underwhelming) results put pressure on people within our environment.

“Now, what we’re seeing at the moment is those foundations were right and we have developed a core nucleus of people in an environment where people can thrive.”

Dees in talks to revamp training base

Melbourne is in talks with the State Government to revamp its training ground at Gosch’s Paddock as part of plans to develop its home base.

The top-of-the-table Demons have surged to premiership favouritism after a blistering first half of the season but have made it a priority to upgrade their facilities which they believe are among the worst in the league.

Melbourne has been hampered by the size of Gosch’s Paddock with chief executive Gary Pert labelling it a “junior-sized football oval”, forcing the Demons to spend more time at Casey Fields where they can conduct full-size drills.

It is understood the Demons want to increase the length and width of the oval at Gosch’s Paddock.

Kysaiah Pickett and his teammates are restricted on the tiny surface at Gosch's Paddock. Picture: Getty Images

And in a positive development the Victorian Government announced in its 2021/2022 state budget that funding could be made available to the Demons for the training ground upgrade.

“Funding is provided and held in central contingency for a range of AFL/AFLW and VFL infrastructure and community projects including Gosch’s Paddock upgrade,” it said.

But the funding is dependent on the scope and cost of the project which the Demons are working though.

The Demons have unsuccessfully tried to identify nearby sites for a new home to help bring its administration and football department under the same roof.

An ambitious plan to build on Yarra Park met resistance from nearby residents and was sunk, forcing the Demons to turn its attention back to improving its current facility at AAMI Park which it shares with Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Storm.

Christian Petracca and head coach Simon Goodwin work on the small confines of Gosch's Paddock. Picture: Getty Images

An announcement could be made in the coming months about a feasibility study into a facelift of the AAMI Park facility which could help give the Demons more room.

The shared arrangements with the Storm and Victory have meant the Demons have had to move to Casey Fields during the Covid-19 restrictions.

But the Demons want to return to the Melbourne sporting precinct close to the MCG on a more permanent basis.

Pert said the Demons’ search for a new training base was in the best shape it had been for several years.

“We have been training on Gosch’s Paddock for many years and that I would nearly classify that as a junior football-size oval,” Pert said on 3AW.

“The one thing that it (Casey) does have is an AFL-size and an AFL-standard oval, which really makes a difference when we are working on our game strategies.

“So the upside of this forced move (to Casey) if you like is that we are actually doing this training on an elite-standard oval.

Clayton Oliver and James Jordan take advice from assistant coach Mark Williams on the training track.

“That has been upside, but there is no doubt we have to get our program sorted out and back into the Melbourne precinct and sort out our oval which is part of our redevelopment plans.

“These are all things we are hoping to talk to our supporters about in the next month or two.”

The Demons have taken a huge hit from Victoria’s latest COVID-19 outbreak which cost the Demons a lucrative home game in the Northern Territory and the Queen’s Birthday clash against Collingwood at the MCG.

The game has been moved to the SCG for the annual Freeze MND slide which raises funds to fight motor neurone disease.

Originally published as AFL 2021: Tom McDonald could miss Queen’s Birthday clash for birth of his child