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
