ALASTAIR Clarkson has swung the selection axe at Hawthorn, dropping four players amid six changes to the side which lost to Sydney last Friday night.

Star midfielder Jaeger O'Meara (calf) and key defender James Frawley (shoulder) will miss Sunday's showdown with Hawks great Luke Hodge and Brisbane at the Gabba through injury.

ALL THE TEAMS Check 'em out

But Tim O'Brien, Dan Howe, Will Langford and Brendan Whitecross have been dumped.

Into the line-up comes tenacious small forward Paul Puopolo, back from a hamstring, alongside James Cousins, David Mirra, Kaiden Brand, James Worpel and debutant Mitch Lewis.

WHO'S IN A Buddy big surprise

The Lions go into the fixture unchanged for the first time this year.

Carlton and Melbourne welcome back their captains for their MCG encounter.

Blues skipper Marc Murphy is a huge inclusion, with tagger Ed Curnow missing through suspension for intentionally touching an umpire.

It will be Murphy's first appearance since he suffered a plantar fascia injury in the warm-up before the Blues' round four loss to North Melbourne.

However, the Blues suffered another blow on Saturday morning when Charlie Curnow was ruled out with a tight quad, opening up the door for Pat Kerr to make his debut.

Meanwhile, Demons co-captain Jack Viney will play his first game since round 21 last year after battling a troublesome foot.

Viney proved his fitness after picking up 18 touches in the VFL last weekend and is back alongside forward Tim Smith.

Tall marking target Sam Weideman (calf) and Dom Tyson (omitted) make way.

Round nine will finish in Perth with the blockbuster top-of-the-table clash between West Coast and Richmond.

After six-straight wins, the Tigers have named an unchanged line-up, with ruckman Toby Nankervis picked despite battling a wrist issue.

Young back-up Ivan Soldo is an emergency for the trip west, while makeshift ruckman Shaun Grigg has been left out of the side after a hamstring issue and fellow premiership hero Brandon Ellis has failed to force his way back.

West Coast welcomes back four key players for the 2.40pm AWST bouncedown, including stars Nic Naitanui (suspension) and Jeremy McGovern (calf).

Speedy half-back Lewis Jetta (calf) and emerging onballer Dom Sheed (foot) also return as the Eagles search for an eighth-straight victory.

Workhorse big man Fraser McInnes, debutant Brayden Ainsworth, Will Schofield and Jackson Nelson have been omitted.

Friday, May 18

Adelaide v Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval, 7.20pm ACST

ADELAIDE

In: K.Hartigan, S.Gibson, D.Fogarty, L.Murphy

Out: L.Brown (adductor), M.Crouch (hamstring), M.McGovern (ankle), T.Walker (glute)

New: Sam Gibson (North Melbourne)

WESTERN BULLDOGS

In: J.Trengove, E.Wood, J.Roughead

Out: A.Naughton (ankle), L.Young, M.Honeychurch





Saturday, May 19

North Melbourne v Greater Western Sydney at Blundstone Arena, 1.45pm AEST

NORTH MELBOURNE

Unchanged

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY

In: T.Mohr, H.Perryman

Out: P.Davis (concussion), M.de Boer (hamstring)

Gold Coast v Port Adelaide, Jiangwan Stadium in Shanghai 3.15pm AEST

GOLD COAST

In: J.Heron

Out: S.Day (suspended)

New: Jacob Heron (Suns Academy)

PORT ADELAIDE

Unchanged

Essendon v Geelong at the MCG, 4.35pm AEST

ESSENDON

In: J.Ridley, M.Guelfi, D.Clarke, K.Langford, M.Dea

Out: M.Hurley (hamstring), K.Mutch (rested), D.Myers (hip), D.Parish, B.McNiece

New: Jordan Ridley (Oakleigh U18), Dylan Clarke (Eastern U18)

GEELONG

In: T.Hawkins

Out: E.Ratugolea (injured)

Sydney v Fremantle at the SCG, 7.25pm AEST

SYDNEY

In: L.Franklin, D.Hannebery

Out: D.Robinson, D.Towers

FREMANTLE

In: N.Wilson, M.Walters

Out: T.Duman, D.Pearce

St Kilda v Collingwood at Etihad Stadium, 7.25pm AEST

ST KILDA

In: B.Rice, J.Sinclair, J.Lonie

Out: J.Carlisle (concussion), B.Acres (groin), S.Gilbert (thumb)

New: Bailey Rice (Dandenong U18)

COLLINGWOOD

In: A.Fasolo, T.Langdon, S.Pendlebury

Out: D.Moore (hamstring), C.Brown, B.Crocker



Sunday, May 20

Carlton v Melbourne at the MCG, 1.10pm AEST

CARLTON

In: M.Murphy, P.Kerr

Out: E.Curnow (suspended), C.Curnow (quad)

MELBOURNE

In: J.Viney, T.Smith

Out: S.Weideman (calf), D.Tyson

Brisbane v Hawthorn at the Gabba, 3.20pm AEST

BRISBANE

Unchanged



HAWTHORN

In: M.Lewis, J.Cousins, D.Mirra, P.Puopolo, J.Worpel, K Brand

Out: J.O'Meara (calf), J.Frawley (shoulder), W.Langford, T.O’Brien, B.Whitecross, D.Howe

West Coast v Richmond at Optus Stadium, 2.40pm AWST

WEST COAST

In: J.McGovern, D.Sheed, L.Jetta, N.Naitanui

Out: F.McInnes, W.Schofield, B.Ainswort, J.Nelson

RICHMOND

Unchanged