Watts was on Thursday left out of the Demons squad for Saturday's JLT Community series clash against Carlton at Casey Fields, having been overlooked for the Dees' pre-season opener against the Western Bulldogs last weekend – Melbourne's first match since Simon Goodwin replaced Paul Roos as senior coach.

It led club great Garry Lyon to suggest that Watts had been sent a message that more was expected of him.

However, in announcing the news on Melbourne's website, Demons general manager of football Josh Mahoney played down the innuendo surrounding Watts.

"We think there has been some predictable, but unfair media speculation about Jack Watts' non-selection. To clarify, the team is being selected on some key criteria, during the pre-season," Mahoney said.

"Jack knows exactly what needs to be worked on and his past two or three weeks, he's been working hard on what he needs to improve on in certain areas.

"He still remains a key player for us this season."

Watts, who turns 26 next month, played every game for Melbourne last season and finished fifth in the club's best and fairest.

The former No.1 draft pick has missed just two games in the past three seasons and signed a three-year contract extension with Melbourne last year.

"I think it was a good day for the Melbourne footy club, not a great day for Jack Watts," Lyon said on SEN earlier in the week in relation to Watts missing the squad for the Dogs match.

"Now there's a pretty stern message in that and what I love most was that [teammates] Tom McDonald spoke, Max Gawn spoke last and those boys didn't try and dodge around it, they just said 'he has to be better'."

The Demons have named former Essendon backman Michael Hibberd in their squad to face the Blues. Should he play, it will be Hibberd's first match for his new club and first appearance against AFL opposition since 2015, as he was one of the 34 current and former Dons suspended for the 2016 season by the Court of Arbitration for Sport early last year.

Small forward Jeff Garlett will be sidelined for three to four weeks with a hamstring injury.

In positive news for the Demons, they have re-signed tall forward Sam Weideman until the end of 2019.

Carlton have named skipper Marc Murphy to return after an injury-riddled 2016, while off-season recruits Rhys Palmer, Caleb Marchbank and Billie Smedts have also been picked in the Blues squad.

North Melbourne welcome back a host of senior players for their clash with Hawthorn on Sunday at Arden Street. Big men Todd Goldstein and Majak Daw have been named in the Roos squad after ankle and knee concerns respectively, while defender Lachie Hansen, Scott Thompson and Robbie Tarrant are also back. Veterans Jarrad Waite and Sam Gibson have been rested.

The Hawks have named off-season acquisition Tom Mitchell for his first appearance in his new colours, while senior players Luke Hodge, Brendan Whitecross, Jack Gunston and Luke Breust have been named after missing last weekend's narrow win over Geelong. New captain Jarryd Roughead and midfielder Jaeger O'Meara have been selected after returning from long absences against the Cats.

A pair of Brownlow medallists are set to make their first appearances of the year when rivals West Coast and Fremantle clash in Geraldton. Stunningly traded from Hawthorn in October, Sam Mitchell has been picked for the Eagles after missing last weekend's trip to Narrandera to face Greater Western Sydney. The Dockers have picked new captain Nat Fyfe, who missed most of last year with a fractured leg. Fremantle have included October signings Brad Hill, Shane Kersten, Joel Hamling and Cam McCarthy in their squad. Mature-age rookie Drew Petrie – axed by North Melbourne last year – is also in the Eagles squad.

Essendon have picked Brent Stanton and Heath Hocking – neither of whom played last Thursday night against Collingwood – in their 29-man squad to face Gold Coast in Mackay on Sunday. Stanton and Hocking are two of the 10 Bombers who returned to the club following the CAS suspensions. The Dons have added midfielder David Myers to their long-term injury list following his finger injury at training on Tuesday. Myers is set to be absent for up to two months as a result of the injury.