Melbourne will make room for Cam Pedersen despite the return of first-choice ruckman Max Gawn to face West Coast in their AFL clash in Perth on Saturday.
All-Australian Gawn is back after 10 weeks out with a hamstring injury, but Demons coach Simon Goodwin said makeshift ruck Pedersen will have a role in the side as Melbourne try to crack their first win against the Eagles since 2009.
"'Pedo will play," Goodwin said on Thursday.
"He's been in exceptional form and we want to be a club that rewards players in good form.
"I won't go into too much detail (on his role), because we've still got a bit to work through but based on the way he's playing he'll suit up for Melbourne this week."
Goodwin wasn't concerned about Gawn's match fitness and said he could have played last week but the club decided to give him another week of conditioning to make sure he was 100 per cent.
Despite Gawn's absence the Demons have been flying, winning their past three including last round's crushing 57-point defeat of defending champions Western Bulldogs.
Goodwin said his midfielders had adapted well.
"It's been great as they've developed a new skill-set; their craft around the ball and their body work at stoppages has been exceptional and their ability to read opposition hands is something that's really improved over the last eight weeks," he said.
"To have Max back now gives us more proactivity in the way we set up and the way we go about our midfield play but the skill set we've developed now hopefully will help us both short and long term."
While the Demons welcome back Gawn they are without co-captain Nathan Jones for at least a month with a quadriceps injury.
Jack Watts is also out because of a hamstring injury.
But Jones' absence does not mean a call-up for Jack Trengove, who continues to ply his trade with their VFL affiliate Casey.
The 25-year-old hasn't played for Melbourne since round 13 last year and managed just five matches in the last four injury-plagued seasons.
However Trengove has been in excellent form in the VFL, averaging 24.6 disposals per game this season, with Goodwin declaring he wasn't far off.
"There's still a little bit of stuff we want to see from him, so he won't be a selection option for us this week but he's starting to really push his claims," he said.
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