Both Richmond and Carlton will throw a debutant into the furnace for the traditional season-opener at the MCG, with Blues youngster Clem Smith set to be the first player from last year's draft class to start his career on the big stage.
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The Tigers have also put their faith in an untried player, giving wingman Kamdyn McIntosh his first chance after three years in the system and, on a night of selection surprises, included Chris Newman just a month after he underwent minor heart surgery.
Aside from rewarding youth, both clubs have left out experienced key forwards, with Blue Levi Casboult and Tiger Tyrone Vickery named emergencies as their club's defied pre-match talk of loading up on talls and instead opted for smaller forward lines.
Smith's emergence is the continuation of a great story after the 19-year-old slid to pick 60 in last year's draft over concerns on his fitness.
The Blues need for a small forward to fill the void left by the departures of Eddie Betts and Jeff Garlett meant that Smith was taken, ironically, with the same selection the club traded to Melbourne in exchange for Garlett.
Smith had his foster family fly into Melbourne on Wednesday to share the occasion. When he was 12, Smith decided to move in with his foster family after spending a lot of time in foster care in West Australia.
McIntosh, meanwhile, was the Tigers' second pick (No.31 overall) in the 2012 national draft and has earned his way into the team on the back of persistence and a solid pre-season.
Together with former Geelong midfielder Taylor Hunt, who has been included to play his first game for the Tigers, assistant coach Brendon Lade said the pair would provide the team with elite running power.
"Taylor adds a different dimension to our midfield," Lade said.
"He's an elite runner, can win some really good outside ball, and play inside as well. So, he can do a bit of both," he said.
"Kamdyn is also an elite runner and uses the ball really well."
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said he had been amazed by Newman's recovery.
"His wound has healed really well, he's trained incredibly well over the last three to four sessions.
"It's a reasonably common procedure in athletes where there is a bit of an irregularity with the heartbeat.
"They burn a valve … and they go up through the groin. It's not so much the proposition with the heart, it's more to do with the wound of the groin that needs healing.
The Tigers hoped key defender David Astbury would be available although he was unable to recover in time after being stung by a stingray last week.
The Blues decided not to risk ruckman Robert Warnock, who has been carrying a shoulder injury, instead preferring Cameron Wood.
