Premiership Pie axed, Blues' ruck surprise as Tiger ends 1353-day ...

Carlton will unleash Orazio Fantasia for his club debut and Tom De Koning as its No. 1 ruck in its season opening clash against Brisbane, while Collingwood defender Billy Frampton will start the year outside the reigning premiers’ senior side.

Similarly, the Blues haven’t named Marc Pittonet in their 23 against a star-studded Brisbane outfit, who’ve included Kai Lohmann and Jarryd Lyons but are missing Deven Robertson, as Zac Williams returns for his first game in 18 months.

Collingwood key defender Charlie Dean will make his AFL debut against the Giants, more than two years after being taken as a rookie, with Frampton, Jeremy Howe and Nathan Murphy all missing from Craig McRae’s defence.

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The Pies had already announced the news on Thursday for Dean, who joined the club after winning the Fothergill-Round-Mitchell Medal in the VFL in 2021, but had to deal with injury across his first two seasons on Collingwood’s list.

Scott Pendlebury has overcome a knee concern to be named by the Pies, joined by Ash Johnson and John Noble. Despite plenty of pre-season hype Fin Macrae has not been named in the 23.

Opponents Greater Western Sydney will debut last year’s pick No.59 Harvey Thomas, confirming the news on Thursday.

Thomas is a product of the Giants’ Academy and has the ability to play multiple roles.

“Another success story from the GIANTS Academy, Harvey is an elite runner and showed he could play multiple roles this year, but we see him settling more ahead of the ball,” club recruiting boss Adrian Caruso said on the club’s website.

Meanwhile, Richmond will debut Sam Naismith and Seth Campbell for Saturday’s grudge match against Damien Hardwick’s Gold Coast Suns, with Dustin Martin and Tom Lynch absent.

Campbell, a 19-year old 182cm forward. was drafted by Richmond with Pick 12 in the 2022 Rookie Draft out of Tasmania and was restricted to five VFL games last year due to injury.

Naismith has not played since Round 4, 2020 when he was a Swan - making it 1353 days between drinks.

Sydney’s off-season recruiting spree sees it heading into the 2024 season opener with a new-look midfield, while Melbourne reveals its tweaks to overcome the forward flaws that cruelled its 2023 finals campaign.

The Swans hand club debuts to ex-Demons pair Brodie Grundy and James Jordon on Thursday night at the SCG, with third trade inclusion Taylor Adams still to miss several weeks due to a knee injury.

Callum Mills (shoulder) and Luke Parker (arm) are also unavailable with the likes of Matt Roberts (7 career games) and Sam Wicks selected instead.

Meanwhile Melbourne is without the suspended Kozzie Pickett, plus ex-Crows forward Shane McAdam (calf) and Harry Petty (toe), meaning Josh Schache has been named at centre-half forward where he’ll play as the second ruck behind captain Max Gawn.

It is a mildly surprising call with the Demons opting to go smaller, as Ben Brown was deemed available but did not make the squad, while Tom McDonald and Tom Fullarton are both emergencies.

Top draftee Caleb Windsor and defender Blake Howes will make their AFL debuts while ex-Saint Jack Billings has also been named after just 11 games in his last two seasons at Moorabbin.

OPENING ROUND TEAMS AND FIXTURE (All times AEDT)

SYDNEY SWANS v MELBOURNE

Thursday March 7, 7:30pm at the SCG

SWANS

B: L.Melican, T.McCartin, D.Rampe

HB: N.Blakey, O.Florent, J.Lloyd

C: J.McInerney, Ch.Warner, E.Gulden

HF: I.Heeney, L.McDonald, J.Amartey

F: T.Papley, H.McLean, W.Hayward

FOLL: B.Grundy, J.Jordon, J.Rowbottom

I/C: B.Campbell, M.Roberts, H.Cunningham, S.Wicks, R.Fox

EMG: A.Sheldrick, P.Ladhams, Co.Warner

DEMONS

B: B.Howes, S.May, J.Lever

HB: J.McVee, A.Tomlinson, C.Salem

C: E.Langdon, C.Petracca, T.Rivers

HF: J.Viney, J.Schache, J.van Rooyen

F: A.Neal-Bullen, B.Fritsch, C.Spargo

FOLL: M.Gawn, T.Sparrow, C.Oliver

I/C: C.Windsor, J.Billings, B.Laurie, J.Bowey, K.Chandler

EMG: T.McDonald, T.Fullarton, T.Woewodin

BRISBANE LIONS v CARLTON

Friday March 8, 7:40pm at the Gabba

LIONS

B: B.Starcevich, J.Payne, R.Lester

HB: K.Coleman, H.Andrews - C, D.Gardiner

C: J.Fletcher, Z.Bailey, J.Berry

HF: C.Cameron, E.Hipwood, H.McCluggage

F: C.Rayner, J.Daniher, D.Zorko

FOLL: O.McInerney, J.Dunkley, L.Neale

I/C: K.Lohmann, C.Ah Chee, L.McCarthy, J.Lyons, D.Wilmot

EMG: J.Tunstill, D.Fort, N.Answerth

BLUES

B: B.Kemp, L.Young, A.Saad

HB: Z.Williams, M.McGovern, N.Newman

C: B.Acres, P.Cripps - C, M.Kennedy

HF: G.Hewett, C.Curnow, M.Owies

F: O.Fantasia, H.McKay, D.Cuningham

FOLL: T.De Koning, A.Cerra, S.Docherty

I/C: J.Boyd, O.Hollands, M.Cottrell, J.Carroll, L.Fogarty

EMG: J.Binns, A.Cincotta, M.Pittonet

GOLD COAST SUNS v RICHMOND

Saturday March 9, 4:20pm at Heritage Bank Stadium

SUNS

B: B.Uwland, C.Ballard, S.Collins

HB: C.Budarick, A.Sexton, W.Powell

C: B.Fiorini, T.Miller, B.Ellis

HF: B.Ainsworth, B.Humphrey, T.Berry

F: B.King, M.Rosas, L.Casboult

FOLL: J.Witts - C, N.Anderson, M.Rowell

I/C: S.Flanders, N.Holman, J.Lukosius, D.Swallow, D.Macpherson

EMG: R.Atkins, W.Graham, N.Moyle

TIGERS

B: D.Grimes, T.Young, J.Gibcus

HB: J.Short - C, D.Rioli, N.Vlastuin

C: K.McIntosh, T.Taranto, S.Banks

HF: M.Rioli, L.Baker, S.Campbell

F: N.Balta, S.Bolton, J.Koschitzke

FOLL: S.Naismith, J.Hopper, D.Prestia

I/C: N.Broad, T.Dow, J.Ross, M.Pickett, S.Ryan

EMG: T.Brown, S.Green, N.Cumberland

GWS GIANTS v COLLINGWOOD

Saturday March 9, 7:30pm at Giants Stadium

GIANTS

B: H.Himmelberg, S.Taylor, C.Idun

HB: L.Whitfield, J.Buckley, L.Ash

C: X.O’Halloran, J.Kelly, J.Wehr

HF: B.Daniels, J.Riccardi, T.Bedford

F: T.Greene - C, J.Hogan, C.Brown

FOLL: K.Briggs, S.Coniglio, T.Green

I/C: C.Ward, H.Thomas, N.Haynes, T.McMullin, A.Cadman

EMG: L.Keeffe, R.Angwin, J.Peatling

MAGPIES

B: B.Maynard, D.Moore - C, C.Dean

HB: S.Pendlebury, I.Quaynor, N.Daicos

C: W.Hoskin-Elliott, J.Crisp, J.Daicos

HF: S.Sidebottom, A.Johnson, B.Mihocek

F: P.Lipinski, J.Elliott, B.Hill

FOLL: D.Cameron, J.De Goey, L.Schultz

I/C: J.Noble, T.Mitchell, B.McCreery, O.Markov, M.Cox

EMG: B.Frampton, F.Macrae, H.Harrison